View source for Kingdom of Italy

{{Short description|Country in Southern Europe (1861–1946)}}
{{About|the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)}}

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Italy
| native_name            = {{native name|it|Regno d'Italia}}
| event_start            = [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|Proclamation]]
| year_start             = 1861
| date_start             = 17 March
| event1                 = [[Treaty of Vienna (1866)|Treaty of Vienna]]
| date_event1            = 4 October 1866
| event2                 = [[Capture of Rome]]
| date_event2            = 20 September 1870
| event3                 = [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]]
| date_event3            = 20 May 1882
| event4                 = [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London]]
| date_event4            = 26 April 1915
| event5                 = [[March on Rome]]
| date_event5            = 28 October 1922
| event6                 = [[Lateran Treaty]]
| date_event6            = 7 June 1929
| event7                 = [[Pact of Steel]]
| date_event7            = 22 May 1939
| event8                 = [[Tripartite Pact]]
| date_event8            = 27 September 1940
| event9                 = [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|Fall of Fascism]]
| date_event9            = 25 July 1943
| event_end              = [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|Republic]]
| year_end               = 1946
| date_end               = 10 June
| official_languages     = [[Italian language|Italian]]
| p1                     = Kingdom of Sardinia{{!}}'''1861:'''<br />Kingdom of Sardinia
| flag_p1                = Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg
| p2                     = Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
| flag_p2                = Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1860).svg
| p3                     = Italian Social Republic{{!}}'''1945:'''<br />Italian Social Republic
| flag_p3                = Flag of Italy.svg
| s1                     = Vatican City{{!}}'''1929:'''<br />Vatican City
| flag_s1                = Flag of the Vatican City.svg
| s2                     = Italian Social Republic{{!}}'''1943:'''<br />Italian Social Republic
| flag_s2                = Flag of Italy.svg
| s3                     = Italy{{!}}'''1946:'''<br />Italian Republic
| flag_s3                = Flag of Italy.svg
| s4                     = Free Territory of Trieste
| flag_s4                = Free Territory Trieste Flag.svg
| s5                     = Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia{{!}}SFR Yugoslavia
| flag_s5                = Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg
| s6                     = French Fourth Republic{{!}}France
| flag_s6                = Flag of France.svg
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Kingdom of Italy 1861.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|The Kingdom of Italy in 1861|[[File:Kingdom of Italy (1914).svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|The Kingdom of Italy in 1914|[[File:Kingdom of Italy (1936).svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|The Kingdom of Italy in 1936|[[File:Kingdom of Italy (1942).png|upright=1.15|frameless]]|The Kingdom of Italy in 1942|default=3}}
| image_map2             = Italy and Possessions September 1939.png
| map_caption2           = Colonies and territories held by the [[Italian Empire]] in 1939
| image_flag             = Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of Italy#Italian unification|Flag]]
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg
| symbol_type            = [[Emblem of Italy#Kingdom of Italy|Greater coat of arms<br />(1890–1927; 1944–1946)]]
| coa_size               = 75px
| national_motto         = [[FERT]]<br />(Motto for the [[House of Savoy]])
| national_anthem        = <br />(1861–1943; 1944–1946)<br />"{{lang|it|[[Marcia Reale|Marcia Reale d'Ordinanza]]}}"<br />("Royal March of Ordinance") <div class="center" style="margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Marcia Reale.ogg]]</div>
        <br />(1924–1943)<br />"{{lang|it|[[Giovinezza]]}}"<br />("Youth") <div class="center" style="margin-top:0.4em;">
[[File:Giovinezza (1924).ogg]]</div>
        <br />(1943–1944)<br />"{{lang|it|[[La Leggenda del Piave]]}}"<br />("The Legend of Piave") <div class="center" style="margin-top:0.4em;">
 </div>
| capital                = {{plainlist|
* [[Turin]] (1861–1865)
* [[Florence]] (1865–1871)
* [[Rome]] (1871–1946)
* [[Brindisi]] (1943–1944; ''de facto'')}}
| largest_city           = Rome
| religion               = 96% [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] ([[state religion]] from 1929)
| government_type        = Unitary parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]]
*under a [[Italian fascism|fascist]] [[totalitarian dictatorship]] (1925–1943)
| stat_year1             = 1861<ref name= "Italy in 150 years">{{cite web|title=Italy in 150 years – summary of historical statistics 1861–2011|url=http://www3.istat.it/dati/catalogo/20120118_00/cap_2.pdf|publisher=[[Istat]]|access-date=27 November 2016|language=it|page=135|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319042115/http://www3.istat.it/dati/catalogo/20120118_00/cap_2.pdf|archive-date=19 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| stat_pop1              = 21,777,334
| stat_area1             = 250320
| stat_year2             = 1936<ref name= "Italy in 150 years"/>
| stat_pop2              = 42,993,602
| stat_area2             = 310190
| leader1                = [[Victor Emmanuel II]]
| year_leader1           = 1861–1878
| leader2                = [[Umberto I of Italy|Umberto I]]
| year_leader2           = 1878–1900
| leader3                = [[Victor Emmanuel III]]
| year_leader3           = 1900–1946
| leader4                = [[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]]
| year_leader4           = 1946
| title_leader           = [[King of Italy|King]]
| title_deputy           = [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]]
| deputy1                = [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour|Count of Cavour]]
| year_deputy1           = 1861 (first)
| deputy2                = [[Benito Mussolini]]{{efn|group=infobox|{{lang|it|[[Duce]]}} from 1925.}}
| year_deputy2           = 1922–1943
| deputy3                = [[Alcide De Gasperi]]{{efn|group=infobox|While the Kingdom of Italy ended in 1946, De Gasperi continued as Prime Minister of the Republic until 1953.}}
| year_deputy3           = 1945–1946 (last)
| legislature            = {{plainlist| *[[Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy|Parliament]] (1861–1943)
*[[National Council (Italy)|National Council]] (1945–1946)}}
| house1                 = [[Senate of the Kingdom of Italy|Senate]]
| house2                 = {{plainlist| *[[Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]] (1861–1939)
*[[Chamber of Fasces and Corporations]] (1939–1943)}}
| currency               = [[Italian lira|Lira]] (₤)
| footnotes              = {{notelist|group=infobox}}
| demonym                = [[Italians|Italian]]
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 151 billion<br />(2.82 trillion in 2019)
| GDP_PPP_year           = 1939
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
}}

The '''Kingdom of Italy''' ({{langx|it|Regno d'Italia}}, {{IPA|it|ˈreɲɲo diˈtaːlja|pron}}) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when [[Victor Emmanuel II]] of [[Kingdom of Sardinia|Sardinia]] was [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|proclaimed King of Italy]], until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished, following civil discontent that led to an [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|institutional referendum on 2 June 1946]]. This resulted in a modern [[Italian Republic]]. The kingdom was established through the unification of several states over a decades-long process, called the {{lang|it|[[Unification of Italy|Risorgimento]]}}. That process was influenced by the [[House of Savoy|Savoy]]-led [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]], which was one of Italy's legal [[Succession of states|predecessor states]].

In 1866, Italy [[Third Italian War of Independence|declared war]] on [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in [[Italo-Prussian Alliance|alliance with]] [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] and, upon its victory, received the region of [[Veneto]]. Italian troops [[Capture of Rome|entered Rome]] in 1870, ending [[Papal States|more than one thousand years of Papal temporal power]]. In the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed into a [[Italian Empire|colonial power]], and in 1882 it entered into a [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] with the [[German Empire]] and the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]], following strong disagreements with [[French Third Republic|France]] about their respective colonial expansions. Although relations with [[Berlin]] became very friendly, the alliance with [[Vienna]] remained purely formal, due in part to Italy's desire to acquire [[Trentino]] and [[Trieste]] from Austria-Hungary. As a result, Italy accepted the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] invitation to join the [[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]] during [[World War I]], as the western powers promised territorial compensation (at the expense of Austria-Hungary) for participation that was more generous than Vienna's offer in exchange for Italian neutrality. [[Big Four (World War I)|Victory in the war]] gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of the [[League of Nations]], but it [[Mutilated victory|did not receive all the territories it was promised]].

In 1922, [[Benito Mussolini]] became prime minister and the [[National Fascist Party]] took control of the Italian government, thus, ushering an era of the Fascist period in Italy known as "[[Fascist Italy]]". Authoritarian rule was enforced, crushing all political opposition while promoting economic modernization, traditional values, and [[Italian irredentism|territorial expansion]]. In 1929, the Italian government reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church through the [[Lateran Treaties]], which granted independence to the [[Vatican City]]. The following decade presided over an [[Spazio vitale|aggressive foreign policy]], with Italy launching successful military operations against [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Ethiopia]] in 1935, [[Italian military intervention in Spain|Spain]] in 1937, and [[Italian invasion of Albania|Albania]] in 1939. This led to economic sanctions, departure from the [[League of Nations]], growing economic [[autarky]], and the signing of [[Pact of Steel|military]] [[Anti-Comintern Pact|alliances]] with [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]].

Italy entered [[World War II]] as a leading member of the [[Axis powers|Axis Powers]] in 1940 and despite initial success, was defeated in [[North African campaign|North Africa]] and the [[Italian participation on the Eastern Front|Soviet Union]]. [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Allied invasion of Sicily|landings in Sicily]] led to the [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|fall of the Fascist regime]] and the new government [[Armistice of Cassibile|surrendered]] to the Allies in September 1943. German forces occupied northern and central Italy, established the [[Italian Social Republic]], and reappointed Mussolini as dictator. Consequentially, Italy descended into [[Italian Civil War|civil war]], with the [[Italian Co-belligerent Army]] and [[Italian resistance movement|resistance movement]] contending with the [[National Republican Army|Social Republic's forces]] and its German allies. Shortly after the [[Surrender of Caserta|surrender of all Axis forces in Italy]], civil discontent prompted an [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|institutional referendum]], which established a [[Italian Republic|republic]] and abolished the monarchy in 1946.

==Overview==
===Territory===
[[File:Kingdom of Italy 1924 map.svg|thumb|left|The Kingdom of Italy in 1924]]
The Kingdom of Italy covered and at times exceeded the land area of present-day Italy. The Kingdom gradually extended its area through the [[Italian unification]] until 1870. In 1919 it annexed [[Trieste]] and [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol]]. The [[Triple Entente]] promised to grant to Italy – if the state joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] in [[World War I]] – several regions, including former [[Austrian Littoral]], western parts of former [[Duchy of Carniola]], Northern [[Dalmatia]] and notably [[Zadar|Zara]], [[Šibenik]] and most of the Dalmatian islands (except [[Krk]] and [[Rab (island)|Rab]]), according to the secret [[London Pact]] of 1915.<ref name="firstworldwar.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/london1915.htm|title=Primary Documents – Treaty of London, 26 April 1915|website=FirstWorldWar.com |access-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830061218/http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/london1915.htm|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

After the refusal by President [[Woodrow Wilson]] to acknowledge the London Pact and the signing of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] in 1919, with the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]] in 1920 Italian claims on Northern Dalmatia were abandoned. During World War II, the Kingdom gained additional territory in Slovenia ([[province of Lubiana]]) and Dalmatia ([[Governatorate of Dalmatia]]) from [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] after its breakup in 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/discussion-of-italian-claims-begins-at-paris-peace-conference|title=Discussion of Italian claims begins at Paris peace conference – Apr 19, 1919|website=history.com|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910172926/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/discussion-of-italian-claims-begins-at-paris-peace-conference|archive-date=10 September 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The Kingdom established and maintained until the end of World War II colonies, protectorates, military occupations and puppet states beyond its borders. These included [[Italian Eritrea|Eritrea]], [[Italian Somaliland]], [[Italian Libya|Libya]], [[Italian Ethiopia|Ethiopia]] (annexed by Italy from 1936 to 1941), [[Albanian Kingdom (1939–1943)|Albania]] (an Italian protectorate since 1939), [[British Somaliland]], [[Axis occupation of Greece|part of Greece]], Corsica, southern France with [[Monaco]], [[French Tunisia|Tunisia]], [[Kosovo]] and [[Italian governorate of Montenegro|Montenegro]] (all territories occupied in World War II) [[Independent State of Croatia|Croatia]] (Italian and German client state in World War II),  and a 46-[[hectare]] concession from [[China]] in [[Tianjin]] (see [[Concessions in Tianjin#Italian concession|Italian concession in Tianjin]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/tianjin-project/tianjinnineflags/italian/|title=Tianjin under Nine Flags, 1860–1949 – Italian Concession|publisher=University of Bristol|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910173649/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/tianjin-project/tianjinnineflags/italian/|archive-date=10 September 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> These foreign colonies and lands came under Italian control at different times and remained so over different periods.

===Government===
[[File:Statuto Albertino Avviso.jpg|thumb|left|Notice of the proclamation of the [[Statuto Albertino]] in 1848 by King [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]]]]

The Kingdom of Italy was a [[constitutional monarchy]]. Executive power belonged to the [[King of Italy|monarch]], who governed through [[Prime Minister of Italy|appointed]] [[Council of Ministers of Italy|ministers]]. The legislative branch was a [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Italy|Parliament]] comprising an appointive [[Senate of the Kingdom of Italy|Senate]] and an elective [[Italian Chamber of Deputies|Chamber of Deputies]]. The kingdom maintained as its [[constitution]] the [[Statuto Albertino]], the governing document of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In theory, ministers were responsible solely to the king. However, by this time, a king couldn't appoint a government of his choosing or keep it in office against the express will of Parliament.

Members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected through a [[plurality voting system]] in [[uninominal|single-member]] districts. A candidate needed the support of 50% of votes and 25% of all enrolled voters to be elected in the first round of ballots. Seats not adjudicated on the first ballot, were filled through a runoff held shortly after the first ballots. In addition to this, there was a [[Council of State (Italy)|Council of State]], which had consultative powers and decided on conflicts of jurisdiction between administrative authorities and courts, as well as on disputes between the state and its creditors. It consisted of a president, three section presidents, 24 councilors of state and the service staff, and was appointed by the king on the proposal of the Council of Ministers.

There was brief experimentation in 1882 with multi-member districts, and after World War&nbsp;I [[proportional representation]] was introduced with large, regional, multi-seat electoral constituencies. The [[Socialist]]s became the major party, but were unable to form a government in a parliament split among the three factions of Socialists, Christian [[Populism|populists]], and [[Classical liberalism|classical liberals]]. Elections took place in 1919, 1921 and 1924: on this last occasion, Mussolini abolished proportional representation, replacing it with the [[Acerbo Law]], by which the party that won the largest share of votes got two-thirds of the seats, which gave the Fascist Party an absolute majority of the Chamber seats.

Between 1925 and 1943, Italy was a quasi-''[[de jure]]'' [[Italian Fascism|fascist]] dictatorship, as the constitution formally remained in effect without alteration while the monarchy formally accepted Fascist policies and institutions. In 1928 the [[Grand Council of Fascism]] took control of government administration, and in 1939 the [[Chamber of Fasces and Corporations]] replaced the Chamber of Deputies.

The highest state administration was divided into the following ministries, with their headquarters in Rome:
* [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] (with the Council for Diplomatic Disputes)
* [[Ministry of the Interior (Italy)|Ministry of the Interior]] (with the Supreme Health Council)
* [[Ministry of Justice (Italy)|Ministry of Mercy, Justice and Religious Affairs]]
* [[Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy)|Ministry of Finance and Treasury]]
* [[Ministry of Defense (Italy)|Ministry of War]] (the committees for the General Staff, the Line Arms, the Royal Carabiniers, for Artillery and Engineering, for Military Health and the Supreme War and Naval Tribunal are subordinate to it)
* [[Ministry of Defense (Italy)#History|Ministry of the Navy]] (with the Supreme Navy Council)
* [[Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (Italy)|Ministry of Public Education]] (with the Higher Education Council)
* [[Ministry of Public Works (Italy)|Ministry of Public Works]] (with the Higher Council for Public Works and the Railway Council)
* [[Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (Italy)|Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Trade]] (with the Mining Council and the Central Statistical Giunta)
* [[Ministry of the Colonies (Italy)|Ministry of Colonies]] (since 1937 Ministry for Italian Africa)
* Ministry for the Liberated Territories (for the territories occupied and annexed after the [[First World War]])
* [[Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (Italy)|Ministry of Transport]]
* Ministry of Aviation
* [[Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (Italy)|Ministry of Education]]
* Ministry of Post and Telegraph
* [[Ministry of Labour and Social Policies (Italy)|Ministry of Labour]]
* [[Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (Italy)|Ministry of Agriculture]]

Due to the war, a number of other short-lived ministries were created during the [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War]].

The [[Court of Audit (Italy)|Court of Auditors of the Kingdom]] had an independent status.

===Military structure===
* [[King of Italy]] – [[Commander-in-chief|supreme commander]] of the Italian Royal Army, Navy and later Air Force from 1861 to 1938 and 1943 to 1946
* [[First Marshal of the Empire]] – [[Generalissimo|supreme commander]] of the Italian Royal Army, Air Force, Navy and the Voluntary Militia for National Security from 1938 to 1943 during the Fascist era, held by both [[Victor Emmanuel III]] and [[Benito Mussolini]]
* {{Lang|it|[[Regio Esercito]]}} (Royal Italian Army)
* {{Lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} (Royal Italian Navy)
* {{Lang|it|[[Regia Aeronautica]]}} (Royal Italian Air Force)
* {{Lang|it|[[Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale]]}} (Voluntary Militia for National Security also known as the "MVSN" or "[[Blackshirts]]") – militia loyal to Mussolini during the Fascist era, abolished in 1943.

===Monarchs===
{{main|House of Savoy}}
[[File:Iron Crown.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Iron Crown of Lombardy]], for centuries a symbol of the [[King of Italy|kings of Italy]]]]

The [[King of Italy]] was formally the holder of state power, but he could only exercise the right of [[legislation]] in conjunction with the national parliament, and the government was de facto responsible to parliament. According to the [[Lex Salica|Salic Law]], the throne was inherited in the male line of the royal [[House of Savoy]]. The king and his house professed allegiance to the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. He came of age at the age of 18 and, upon assuming power, took an [[oath of office|oath to the constitution]] in the presence of both chambers. According to the law of 17 March 1861, his title was: "[[Divine right of kings|By the grace of God]] and by the will of the nation, King of Italy and King of Albania (only from 1939 to 1943) and Emperor of Ethiopia (only from 1936 to 1943)". He awarded the five [[Orders of Knighthood]] of Savoy and exercised constitutional sovereign rights. He commanded the land, sea and air power; he declared wars, concluded peace, alliance, trade and other treaties, of which only those that entailed a burden on finances or a change in territory required the approval of the chambers to be effective. The king appointed to all state offices, [[Pragmatic sanction|sanctioned]] and promulgated the laws, which as well as the government acts had to be [[Countersign (legal)|countersigned]] by the responsible ministers, and issued the [[decrees]] and [[Guideline|regulations]] necessary for the execution of the laws. Justice was administered in his name, and he alone had the [[pardon]] and mitigation of punishment.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Monarchs of the Kingdom of Italy 
|-
!scope="col" rowspan="2"| #
!scope="col" rowspan="2" class="unsortable"| Image
!scope="col" rowspan="2"| Name<br />(Dates)
!scope="col" colspan="2"| Period of rule
!scope="col" rowspan="2" class="unsortable"| Monogram
!scope="col" rowspan="2" class="unsortable"| Coats of arms
|-
!scope="col" width="18%"| Begin
!scope="col" width="18%"| End
|-
!scope="row"| 1
| [[File:VictorEmmanuel2.jpg|75px]]
| '''[[Victor Emmanuel II]]'''<br />Father of the Fatherland<br />(1820–1878)
| 17 March<br />1861
| 9 January<br />1878
| align="center"|[[File:Royal Monogram of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.svg|60px]]
| align="center"| [[File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy variant (1848-1870).svg|60px|1861–1870]] &nbsp; [[File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1870-1890).svg|60px|1870–1878]]
|-
!scope="row"| 2
| [[File:Umberto I di Savoia.jpg|75px]]
| '''[[Umberto I of Italy|Umberto I]]'''<br />the Good<br />(1844–1900)
| 9 January<br />1878
| 29 July<br />1900
| align="center"|[[File:Royal Monogram of King Umberto I of Italy.svg|60px]]
| [[File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1870-1890).svg|60px|1878–1890]] &nbsp; [[File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg|60px|1890–1900]]
|-
!scope="row"| 3
| [[File:Vittorio Emanuele III (c. 1924-1934).jpg|75px]]
| '''[[Victor Emmanuel III]]'''<br />the Soldier King<br />(1869–1947)
| 29 July<br />1900
| 9 May<br />1946
| align="center"|[[File:Royal Monogram of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.svg|60px]]
| [[File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg|60px|1900–1929]] &nbsp; [[File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1929-1944).svg|60px|1929–1944]]
|-
!scope="row"| 4
| [[File:Umberto II, 1944.jpg|75px]]
| '''[[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]]'''<br />the May King<br />(1904–1983)
| 9 May<br />1946
| 12 June<br />1946
| align="center"|[[File:Royal Monogram of King Umberto II of Italy.svg|50px]]
| [[File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg|60px|1946]]
|}

=== State symbols ===
The first [[Coat of arms of Italy|state coat of arms]] of the kingdom was adopted from Sardinia-Piedmont. It included the coat of arms of the [[House of Savoy]] in the middle and four Italian flags dating from 1848.

On 4 May 1870, by royal decree, two lions in [[gold]], which now carried the [[shield]], a crowned knight's helmet, which bore the [[Military Order of Savoy]], the [[Order of the Crown of Italy]], the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]] and the [[Order of the Annunciation]] around its collar, were added. The motto [[FERT]] was deleted. The lions carried [[lances]] that held the national flag. From the helmet fell a royal cloak, which was supposed to protect the nation. Above the coat of arms was the star of Italy (Italian [[Stella d’Italia]]).

The newly adopted national coat of arms of 1 January 1890 removed the fur coat and the lances and the crown on the helmet was replaced by the [[Iron Crown]] of the [[Lombards]]. The whole group stood under a [[Mantle and pavilion (heraldry)|canopy]], crowned with the Italian royal crown, above which was the banner of Italy. The flagpole was carried by a golden crowned [[Eagle (heraldry)|eagle]].

On 11 April 1929, Mussolini replaced the two Savoy lions with [[Fascis|lictor's bundles]]. Only after his dismissal in 1944 was the old coat of arms from 1890 restored.

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)}}

=== Unification process (1848–1870) ===
{{Main|Italian Unification}}
[[File:Italian-unification.gif|thumb|Animated map of the [[Italian unification]] from 1829 to 1871]]
The [[birth of the Kingdom of Italy]] was the result of efforts by Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the [[House of Savoy]] to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire [[Italian Peninsula]]. Following the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815, the political and social [[Italian unification]] movement, or {{lang|it|Risorgimento}}, emerged to unite Italy consolidating the different states of the peninsula and liberate it from foreign control. A prominent radical figure was the patriotic journalist [[Giuseppe Mazzini]], member of the secret revolutionary society of {{lang|it|[[Carbonari]]}} and founder of the influential political movement [[Young Italy (historical)|Young Italy]] in the early 1830s. Mazzini favoured a unitary republic and advocated a broad nationalist movement. His prolific output of propaganda helped to spread the unification movement.

The most famous member of Young Italy was the revolutionary and general [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], renowned for his extremely loyal followers,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mack Smith |first1=Denis |title=Modern Italy: A Political History |date=1997 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-10895-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ut-OsMbeJNcC |language=en |page=15}} A literary echo may be found in the character of Giorgio Viola in Joseph Conrad's ''[[Nostromo]]''.</ref> who led the Italian republican drive for unification in Southern Italy. However, the Northern Italy monarchy of the House of Savoy in the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]], whose government was led by [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour]], also had ambitions of establishing a united Italian state. In the context of the [[revolutions of 1848|1848 liberal revolutions]] that swept through Europe, an unsuccessful [[First Italian War of Independence]], led by King [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]], was declared on [[Austria-Hungary|Austria]]. In 1855, the Kingdom of Sardinia became an ally of Britain and France in the [[Crimean War]], giving Cavour's diplomacy legitimacy in the eyes of the great powers.<ref>Enrico Dal Lago, "Lincoln, Cavour, and National Unification: American Republicanism and Italian Liberal Nationalism in Comparative Perspective." ''The Journal of the Civil War Era'' 3#1 (2013): 85–113.</ref><ref>William L. Langer, ed., ''An Encyclopedia of World Cup History''. 4th ed. 1968. pp 704–7.</ref> The Kingdom of Sardinia again attacked the Austrian Empire in the [[Second Italian War of Independence]] of 1859, with the aid of [[Second French Empire|France]], resulting in liberating [[Lombardy]]. On the basis of the secret [[Plombières Agreement]] (21 July 1858), the Kingdom of Sardinia ceded [[Savoy]] and [[Nice]] to France, an event that caused the [[Niçard exodus]], that was the emigration of a quarter of the [[Niçard Italians]] to Italy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|title="Un nizzardo su quattro prese la via dell'esilio" in seguito all'unità d'Italia, dice lo scrittore Casalino Pierluigi|newspaper=Montecarlonews.it |date=28 August 2017|access-date=14 May 2021|language=it}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
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| footer            = [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] (left), highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary movement; and [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] (right), celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times<ref name="scholar and patriot">{{Cite web|title=Scholar and Patriot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iWK7AAAAIAAJ&q=Garibaldi%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bgreatest%2Bgenerals%2Bof%2Bmodern%2Btime&pg=PAPA133|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328152801/https://books.google.com/books?id=iWK7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PAPA133&q=Garibaldi%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bgreatest%2Bgenerals%2Bof%2Bmodern%2Btime#v=onepage&q=Garibaldi%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bgreatest%2Bgenerals%2Bof%2Bmodern%2Btime&f=false|archive-date=28 March 2024|access-date=5 April 2020|publisher=Manchester University Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe,<ref name="Garibaldi on Encyclopædia Britannica">{{Cite web|title=Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian revolutionary)|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226091529/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi|archive-date=26 February 2014|access-date=6 March 2014}}</ref> who fought in many military campaigns that led to [[Italian unification]]
}}

In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily (the [[Expedition of the Thousand]]),<ref>Mack Smith, Denis (1997). ''Modern Italy; A Political History''. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. {{ISBN|0-472-10895-6}}</ref> while the [[House of Savoy]] troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of [[Papal States]]. [[Teano]] was the site of the famous meeting of 26 October 1860 between Giuseppe Garibaldi and [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]], last King of Sardinia, in which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him as [[King of Italy]]; thus, Garibaldi sacrificed republican hopes for the sake of Italian unity under a monarchy. Cavour agreed to include Garibaldi's Southern Italy allowing it to join the union with the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] in 1860. This allowed the Sardinian government to [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|declare a united Italian kingdom]] on 17 March 1861.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.it/20170317/everything-to-know-about-march-17th-italys-unity-unification-risorgimento-day |title=Everything you need to know about March 17th, Italy's Unity Day |date=17 March 2017|access-date=17 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref> [[Victor Emmanuel II]], since March 1849 King of Sardinia, then became the first king of a united Italy, and the capital was moved from Turin to Florence. The title of "King of Italy" had been out of use since the abdication of [[Napoleon I of France]] on 6 April 1814.

{{multiple image
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| footer            = [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]] (left) and [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour]] (right), leading figures in the Italian unification, became respectively the first king and first Prime Minister of unified Italy.
}}

Following the unification of most of Italy, tensions between the royalists and republicans erupted. In April 1861, Garibaldi entered the Italian parliament and challenged Cavour's leadership, accusing him of dividing Italy, and threatened a civil war between the Kingdom in the North and his forces in the South. On 6 June 1861, the Kingdom's strongman Cavour died. During the ensuing political instability, Garibaldi and the republicans became increasingly revolutionary in tone. Garibaldi's arrest in 1862 set off worldwide controversy.<ref>Smith (1997), p. 61</ref>

In 1866, [[Otto von Bismarck]], [[Minister President of Prussia]], offered Victor Emmanuel II [[Italo-Prussian Alliance|an alliance]] with the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in the [[Austro-Prussian War]]. In exchange, Prussia would allow Italy to annex Austria-controlled [[Veneto]]. King Emmanuel agreed to the alliance, and the [[Third Italian War of Independence]] began. Italy fared poorly in the war with a badly-organized military against Austria, but Prussia's victory allowed Italy to [[Plebiscite of Veneto of 1866|annex Veneto]]. At this point, one major obstacle to Italian unity remained: Rome.

In July 1870, Prussia went to war with France, igniting the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. To keep the large [[Prussian Army]] at bay, France abandoned its positions in Rome – which protected the remnants of the Papal States and [[Pius IX]] – to fight the Prussians. Italy benefited from Prussia's victory against France by taking over the Papal States from French authority. The Kingdom of Italy [[Capture of Rome|captured Rome]] after several battles and guerrilla-like warfare by [[Papal Zouaves]] and official troops of the Holy See against the Italian invaders. Italy's unification was completed and its capital moved to Rome. Victor Emmanuel, Garibaldi, Cavour, and Mazzini are remembered as Italy's ''Four Fathers of the Fatherland''.<ref name="scholar and patriot" />

[[File:Piazza Venezia - Il Vittoriano (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Altare della Patria]] in Rome, a [[National symbols of Italy|national symbol of Italy]] celebrating King Victor Emmanuel II, and resting place of the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy)|Italian Unknown Soldier]] since the end of World War I. It was inaugurated in 1911, on the occasion of the 50th [[Anniversary of the Unification of Italy]].]]

Garibaldi was elected in 1871 in his home city of Nice to the French [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]], where he tried to promote the cession of the city from France to the newborn Italian unitary state. He was prevented from speaking,<ref>{{cite web |title=Times article dated February 13, 1871 |url=http://storage.canalblog.com/76/72/572678/57843167.png |access-date=20 October 2011}}</ref> which led the Garibaldini to riots called the "[[Niçard Vespers]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=I Vespri Nizzardi del 1871: conferenza storica e annullo speciale |url=http://www.philweb.it/i_vespri_nizzardi_del_1871_conferenza_storica_e_annullo_speciale-st1940.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909073731/http://www.philweb.it/i_vespri_nizzardi_del_1871_conferenza_storica_e_annullo_speciale-st1940.html |archive-date=9 September 2012 |access-date=20 October 2011}}</ref><ref>J. Woolf Stuart, {{lang|it|Il risorgimento italiano}}, Turin, Einaudi, 1981, p. 44 (In Italian).</ref> Fifteen of the Nice rebels were tried and sentenced.<ref>Giuseppe André, {{lang|it|Nizza negli ultimi quattro anni}}, Nice, Editore Gilletta, 1875, pp. 334–335 (In Italian).</ref>

Economic conditions in united Italy were poor.<ref>Smith (1997), pp. 95–96</ref> The country lacked transportation facilities (see [[History of rail transport in Italy|here]]) and industry, and suffered from extreme poverty (especially in the {{lang|it|[[Mezzogiorno]]}}) and high illiteracy. Only a small wealthy elite had the right to vote. The unification movement relied largely on foreign powers' support and continued to do so afterwards. Following the capture of Rome in 1870 from French forces of [[Napoleon III of France|Napoleon III]], Papal troops, and [[Zouave#Papal Zouaves|Zouaves]], relations between Italy and the [[Holy See|Vatican]] remained sour for the next sixty years, with the [[Pope]]s declaring themselves to be [[prisoner in the Vatican|prisoners in the Vatican]]. The [[Catholic Church in Italy]] frequently protested the anti-clerical actions of the secular Italian governments, refused to meet with envoys from the King, and urged Roman Catholics not to vote in Italian elections.<ref>Smith (1997), p. 91</ref> Not until 1929 was the [[Roman question]] resolved and positive relations restored between the Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican, after the signing of the [[Lateran Treaty|Lateran Pacts]].

Some of the states that had been targeted for unification ({{lang|it|[[Italian irredentism|terre irredente]]}}), [[Trentino-Alto Adige]] and the [[Julian March]], did not join the Kingdom of Italy until 1918 after Italy [[Battle of Vittorio Veneto|had defeated]] [[Austria-Hungary]] at the end of the [[First World War]]. For this reason, historians sometimes describe the unification period as continuing past 1871, including activities during the late 19th century and the [[Italian Front (World War I)|First World War]] (1915–1918), and reaching completion only with the [[Armistice of Villa Giusti]] on 4 November 1918. This more expansive view of the unification is presented at the [[Central Museum of the Risorgimento]].<ref>Arnaldi, Girolamo. ''Italy and Its Invaders.'' Harvard University Press, 2005. p. 194. {{ISBN|0-674-01870-2}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.risorgimento.it/index.php?section=museo|title=Museo Centrale del Risorgimento di Roma|website=Istituto per la storia del Risorgimento italiano|access-date=6 July 2018|language=it}}</ref>

==== Unifying multiple bureaucracies ====
[[File:Kingdom of Italy 1943.png|thumb|Map of the Kingdom of Italy at its greatest extent in 1943, during [[World War II]], with the [[Italian occupation of France|annexation of small territories from France]] and [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. The territories annexed by the latter are the area constituting the [[province of Ljubljana]], the area merged with the [[province of Fiume]] and the areas making up the [[Governorate of Dalmatia]].]]

A major challenge for the prime ministers of the new Kingdom of Italy was integrating the political and administrative systems of the seven different major components under a unified set of policies. The different regions were proud of their traditions and could not easily be fitted into the Sardinian model. Cavour started planning for integration, but died (on 6 June 1861) before it was fully developed – indeed, the challenge [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour#Prime Minister of Italy|is thought to have hastened his early death]]. The regional administrative bureaucracies followed the Napoleonic precedent, so their harmonization was relatively straightforward. The next challenge was to develop a parliamentary legislative system. Cavour and most liberals up and down the peninsula highly admired the [[Politics of the United Kingdom|British system]], which became the model for Italy.

Harmonizing the Navy ([[Regia Marina]]) and the [[Royal Italian Army]] was much more complex, chiefly because the systems of [[Military recruitment|recruiting soldiers]] and selecting and promoting officers were so different and [[Grandfather clause|grandfathered]] exceptions to the general system persisted for decades. The disorganization helps explain the dismal performance of the Italian navy in the [[Third Italian War of Independence|1866 war]].

Uniformizing the diverse education systems also proved complicated. Shortly before his death, Cavour appointed [[Francesco De Sanctis]] as minister of education, an eminent scholar from the [[University of Naples]] who proved an able and patient administrator. The [[Plebiscite of Veneto of 1866|addition of Veneto in 1866]] and Rome in 1870 further complicated the challenges of bureaucratic coordination.<ref>Harry Hearder, ''Cavour'' (1994 p 203-5).</ref>

=== Economy ===
{{see also|History of coins in Italy}}
[[File:20 lire Vittorio Emanuele II.jpg|thumb|left|Golden 20 [[Italian lira|lire]] coin with the effigy of King [[Victor Emmanuel II]] of 1873. Minted in [[Milan]] (M BN); other mints included [[Rome]] (R) and [[Turin]] (T BN).]]

[[History of coins in Italy|Italy has a long history of different coinage types]]. Italian unification highlighted the confusion of the pre-unification Italian monetary system which was mostly based on silver monometallism and therefore in contrast with the gold monometallism in force in the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] and in the major European nations.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alfredo Taracchini|title=Addio, cara Lira|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkYIvRjZO0kC|year=1999|publisher=Edizioni Pendragon|isbn=978-8883420146|language=it|page=79}}</ref> To reconcile the various monetary systems it was decided to opt for [[bimetallism]], taking inspiration from the [[French franc]] model, from which the dimensions of the coins and the exchange rate of 1 to 15.50 between gold and silver were taken. The Italian monetary system, however, differed from the French one in two aspects: silver coins could be exchanged in unlimited quantities with the State, but limited quantities between private individuals and it was decided to mint coins that nominally had 900‰ fine silver, but which in fact they contained 835‰ so as to approach the real exchange rate between gold and silver which was approximately 1 to 14.38.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alfredo Taracchini|title=Addio, cara Lira|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkYIvRjZO0kC|year=1999|publisher=Edizioni Pendragon|isbn=978-8883420146|language=it|page=80}}</ref> Exactly four months after the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]], the government introduced the new national currency, the [[Italian lira]]. The legal tender of the new currency was established by the Royal Decree of 17 July 1861 which specified the exchange of pre-unification coins into lire and the fact that local coins continued to be legal tender in their respective provinces of origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.regio:1861-7-17;123@originale|title=REGIO DECRETO 17 luglio 1861, n. 123|access-date=7 October 2023|language=it}}</ref>

In the entire period from 1861 to 1940, Italy experienced considerable economic growth despite several [[economic crises]] and the First World War. Unlike most modern nations, where industrialization was undertaken by large [[corporations]], industrial growth in Italy was mostly due to small and medium-sized family businesses.

{{multiple image
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| header    = Rail network in Italy 1861–1870
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| caption1  = Network as of 17 March 1861
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| caption2  = Network as of 20 September 1870
}}

Political unification did not automatically bring about [[economic integration]], because of the sharp contrasts in culture, politics, and economic practices among the various regions. Italy managed to industrialize in several steps, although the country remained the most backward economy among the great powers (except for the [[Russian Empire]]) and was very dependent on [[foreign trade]], especially the international markets through which it imported [[coal]] and exported [[grain]].

After unification, Italy had a predominantly [[agricultural]] society, with 60 percent of the labor force employed in agriculture. Advances in technology increased export opportunities for Italian agricultural produce after a period of crisis in the 1880s. With industrialization, the proportion employed in agriculture fell below 50% around the turn of the century. However, not everyone benefited from these developments, as southern agriculture in particular suffered from the hot [[arid climate]], while in the north [[malaria]] hampered cultivation of low-lying areas on the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] coast.

The government's focus on foreign and military policy in the early years of the state led to the neglect of agriculture, which declined after 1873. The Italian parliament initiated an investigation in 1877, which lasted eight years and blamed the lack of [[mechanization]] and modern farming techniques, and the failure of landowners to develop their lands. In addition, most farm laborers were temporary inexperienced short-term workers ({{lang|it|braccianti}}). Farmers without a steady income were forced to subsist on meager food. Disease spread rapidly and a major cholera epidemic killed at least 55,000 people. Government action was blocked by strong political and economic opposition from the large landowners. Another commission of inquiry in 1910 found similar problems.

Around 1890 there was also an [[overproduction]] crisis in the [[Italian wine|Italian wine industry]], almost the only successful sector in agriculture. In the 1870s and 1880s, viticulture in France suffered from a crop failure caused by insects, and Italy became the largest wine exporter in Europe. After France's recovery in 1888, Italian wine exports collapsed, causing a wave of unemployment and bankruptcies.

From the 1860s, Italy invested heavily in the development of [[History of rail transport in Italy|railways]], with its rail network more than tripling between 1861 and 1872, then doubling again by 1890. [[Gio. Ansaldo & C.]] from the former Kingdom of Sardinia provided the first Italian built locomotives with the [[FS Class 113]] and the later [[FS Class 650]]. The first railway section on the island of [[Sicily]] was inaugurated on 28 April 1863 with the [[Palermo]]–[[Bagheria]] line. By 1914 the Italian railway had around 17,000&nbsp;km of railways.

During the Fascist dictatorship, enormous sums were invested in new technological achievements, especially in military technology. But large sums of money were also spent on [[Reputation|prestige]] projects such as the construction of the new Italian ocean liner {{SS|Rex}}, which set a [[Atlantic Ocean|transatlantic]] sea voyage record of four days in 1933, and the development of the seaplane ''[[Macchi M.C.72|Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72]]'', which was the world's fastest seaplane in 1933. In 1933, [[Italo Balbo]] completed a flight across the Atlantic in a seaplane to the [[A Century of Progress|World's Fair]] in [[Chicago]]. The flight symbolized the power of the Fascist leadership and the industrial and technological progress the state had made under the Fascists.

{| class="wikitable""
|+Economic measures of the Kingdom of Italy, by year<ref>[[Angus Maddison]]: ''Contours of the World Economy I-2030AD'', Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-19-922720-4}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/historical_statistics/horizontal-file_03-2007.xls Angus Maddison: ''Historical Statistics of World Economy 1-2003 AD.'']</ref>
|-
!scope="col"| Measure
!scope="col"| 1861
!scope="col"| 1870
!scope="col"| 1880
!scope="col"| 1890
!scope="col"| 1900
!scope="col"| 1910
!scope="col"| 1920
!scope="col"| 1930
!scope="col"| 1940
!scope="col"| 1945
|-
!scope="row"| [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] in billion US dollars
| 37.995
| 41.814
| 46.690
| 52.863
| 60.114
| 85.285
| 96.757
| 119.014
| 155.424
| 114.422
|}

=== Industrialization ===
[[File:Italy Industry 1871.svg|thumb|Index of industrialization of the [[Provinces of Italy|Italian provinces]] in 1871 (the national average is 1.0). Source: [[Bank of Italy]].
{{legend|#550000|Over 1.4}}
{{legend|#D40000|From 1.1 to 1.4}}
{{legend|#FF8080|From 0.9 to 1.1}}
{{legend|#FFFFFF|Up to 0.9}}]]
[[File:1898-illustraz-italiana-officina-Zopfi-pag-152-foto2.jpg|thumb|A machinery exposition in [[Turin]], set in 1898, during the period of industrialization, National Exhibition of Turin, 1898]]

During the 1860s and 1870s, Italian manufacturing was backward and small-scale, while the oversized agrarian sector was the backbone of the national economy. The country lacked large coal and iron deposits.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hildebrand|first1=George Herbert|title=Growth and Structure in the Economy of Modern Italy|url=https://archive.org/details/growthstructurei0000hild|url-access=registration|date=1965|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=[https://archive.org/details/growthstructurei0000hild/page/307 307–309]}}</ref> In the 1880s, a severe [[Italian farm crisis|farm crisis]] led to the introduction of more modern farming techniques in the [[Po Valley]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zamagni|first1=Vera|title=The economic history of Italy, 1860–1990 : from the periphery to the centre|date=1993|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=[New York]|isbn=978-0198287735|page=64|edition=Repr.}}</ref> while from 1878 to 1887 [[protectionist]] policies were introduced with the aim of establishing a base of heavy industry.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kemp|first1=Tom|title=Industrialization in nineteenth-century Europe|date=1985|publisher=Longman|location=London|isbn=978-0582493841|edition=2nd|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/industrializatio0000kemp}}</ref>

In the 1880s industrialisation moved into high gear, which lasted until 1912/13 and reached its peak under [[Giovanni Giolitti|Giolitti]]. Industrial plants soon clustered around areas of [[hydropower]] energy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/quaderni-storia/2010-0004/en_Qua_Storia_eco_n4.pdf?language_id=1 |title=Through the Magnifying Glass: Provincial Aspects of Industrial Growth in Post-Unification Italy |last1=Ciccarelli  |first1=Carlo |last2=Fenoaltea |first2=Stefano |date=July 2010 |publisher=[[Banca d'Italia]] |page=4}}</ref> Between 1887 and 1911 [[hydroelectricity]] became the main source of energy, with over sixty [[Hydroelectricity|plants]] constructed.<ref>Vania Licio (2022), p. 23.</ref> From 1881 to 1887, Italy's textile, mechanical, steel, iron, and chemical industries grew by an average 4.6 percent annually.<ref>A. James Gregor (1979), p. 6.</ref> The backbone of the industrial boom was, next to the labor force, institutions of higher learning such as the [[Polytechnic University of Milan|Politecnico]] founded in [[Milan]] in 1863 by [[Francesco Brioschi]] and the [[Polytechnic University of Turin|Technical School for Engineers]] in [[Turin]] established four years earlier.

Steelworks were established with state and private capital, notably from the [[Credito Mobiliare]]: in 1884 in [[Terni]] and in 1897 in [[Piombino]] using iron-ore from [[Elba]]. The relative backwardness of the south continued to be a central problem for the state. Various solutions were proposed for the so-called "[[Southern question]]" by [[Francesco Saverio Nitti]], [[Gaetano Salvemini]] and Sidney Sonnino, but the government only acted in special problem areas such as [[Naples]].<ref>Gernert et al. (2016), p. 365.</ref> The [[Ilva (company)|ILVA]] group of [[Genoa]], with the political and financial backing of the Italian state, built the [[Bagnoli]] steel plant as part of the 1904 law for the development of [[Naples]], prepared by economist and later prime minister Nitti. In 1898, in order to make the steel-industry completely independent from foreign [[coal]] imports, the [[naples|Neapolitan]] engineer Ernesto Stassano invented the [[Stassano furnace]], the first indirect-arc [[Electric arc furnace|electric furnace]]. By 1917, Italian iron and steel plants operated 88 indirect-arc furnaces, manufactured by Stassano, Bassanese and Angelini.<ref>Gillett (1922), p. 186.</ref>

In 1899 the automobile industry commenced when [[Giovanni Agnelli]] bought the designs and patents of the [[Giovanni Battista Ceirano|Ceirano brothers]] and founded the [[Fiat S.p.A.|Fiat]] automobile works. In 1906 another automobile factory was built in the [[Portello (district of Milan)|Portello]] district of Milan for the French entrepreneur [[Alexandre Darracq]] and the headquarters of his Italian branch {{lang|it|Società Anonima Italiana Darracq}}. In 1910, the company brought the first successful model onto the market with the [[ALFA 24 HP|24 HP]] and the brand name ''ALFA'' on the radiator grille. While automobiles were only affordable by few its popularity and fascination rose rapidly, and one of the first [[sports car racing]] events in the world, the [[Targa Florio]], held annually in the mountains of [[Sicily]] was established in 1906.

In the financial sector, Prime Minister Giolitti was mainly concerned with increasing [[pensions]] and restructuring the [[state budget]], though proceeding with great caution. The government secured the support of large companies and banks. Most criticism the project came from conservatives, with a majority of the public supporting the soundness of public finances. The state budget, which from 1900 had an annual income of around 50 million lire, was to be additionally strengthened by the [[nationalization]] of the railways.

In March 1905, after serious labor unrest among railroad workers, Giolitti resigned due to illness, and suggested his fellow party member [[Alessandro Fortis]] to the king as his successor. On 28 March Victor Emmanuel III appointed Fortis as the new prime minister, making him the first [[Jewish]] head of government worldwide. With Law 137 of 22 April 1905 he sanctioned the nationalization of the railways through a public recruitment process under the control of the [[Court of Audit (Italy)|Court of Audit]] and the supervision of the Ministries of Public Works and Finance. At the same time, the [[telephone]] system was nationalized.<ref name="Gernert et al. 2016, p. 369">Gernert et al. (2016), p. 369.</ref> The Fortis government remained in office until the beginning of 1906. It was followed from 8 February to 29 May by a brief government under [[Sidney Sonnino]]. Finally, Giolitti entered his third term. In this he dealt mainly with the economic situation in southern Italy, due both to long-term demographic and economic factors, as well as natural disasters such as the eruption of [[Vesuvius]] in 1906 and the [[1908 Messina earthquake|earthquake]] in [[Messina]], [[Reggio Calabria|Calabria]], and [[Palmi, Calabria|Palmi]] in 1908. Entire villages were depopulated and centuries-old regional cultures disappeared.<ref name="Gernert et al. 2016, p. 369"/> Nevertheless, there was a slight economic upswing in the south afterwards. The government, which had initially discouraged emigration to avoid [[labor market|labor shortages]], now gave its approval to the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Italians from the south. This was motivated by fear of increasing social tensions and monetary instability.

In 1906 the government lowered the national [[interest tax]] rate from 5% to 3.75%. This move eased the burden on the state's required finances, reduced the fears of state [[Government debt|bondholders]], and encouraged the growth of [[heavy industry]]. The subsequent [[budget balance|budget surplus]] made it possible to finance major government work projects which massively reduced [[unemployment]], such as the completion of the [[Simplon Tunnel]] in 1906. Shortly after the railway began its triumphal march through [[Switzerland]], each region wanted its own north–south connection and with the construction of the railway tunnels on the [[Gotthard Tunnel|Gotthard]] 14,998&nbsp;km (1872–1880), [[Simplon Tunnel|Simplon]] 19,803&nbsp;km (1898–1906) and [[Lötschberg Tunnel|Lötschberg]] 14,612&nbsp;km (1907–1913), three major [[Alps|Alpine]] crossings were realized that were important for [[Switzerland]] and neighboring European countries. The workforce of these monumental projects were largely Italians: at the Gotthard tunnel 90% of miners came from northern Italy, while at the Lötschberg tunnel 97% were Italian, chiefly from the south.

In addition to the now completed nationalization of the railways, the planned nationalization of insurance was tackled and the trade war with France, which had lasted since 1887, ended. Giolitti thereby interrupted Crispi's pro-German foreign policy and thus enabled the export of fruit, vegetables and wine to France. He also boosted the cultivation of [[sugar beet]]s and their processing in the [[Po Valley]] and encouraged heavy industry to gain a foothold in the south as well. However, the latter was not very successful. In 1908, some laws limiting working hours for women and children up to 12 hours were passed with the support of the Socialist MPs.<ref name="Gernert et al. 2016, p. 369"/> Special laws for the disadvantaged regions of the south followed. However, their implementation mostly failed due to the resistance of the large landowners. Nevertheless, there was a significant improvement in the economic situation of [[Smallholding|smallholders]].

In 1911, 55.4% of the Italian population worked in [[agriculture]] and 26.9% in [[Industry (economics)|industry]].<ref>Gernert et al. (2016), p. 367.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Terni - le Acciaierie 1912.jpg|The [[Terni]] steel plant est. 1884 (picture of 1912)
File:Trezzo sull’Adda - Centrale Taccani - panoramio.jpg|Hydroelectric plant on the [[Adda (river)|Adda river]] built in 1906
File:Poster FIAT by Giovanni Carpanetto.png|An advertisement for the [[Fiat 4 HP|4HP]] automobile by [[FIAT]] in 1899
File:Denkmal Iselle.jpg|Monument in memory of the workers that died mining the [[Simplon Tunnel]], next to the [[Iselle di Trasquera railway station]], dated 29 May 1905
</gallery>

=== Social changes and mass emigration ===
{{See also|Caltavuturo massacre|Bava Beccaris massacre|Italian diaspora}}
[[File:Quarto Stato.jpg|thumb|right|''[[The Fourth Estate (painting)|The Fourth Estate]]'' by [[Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo|Giuseppe Pellizza]], {{Circa}} 1898–1901]]

Strong social tensions came to light, Italy's social legislation took last place in Europe,<ref>Ute Klammer: ''Old-age security in Italy. An institutional, theoretical and empirical analysis.'' Berlin 1997, p. 90.</ref> the socialists were opposed not only to social policy but also to colonial expansion. Prime Minister [[Francesco Crispi]] financed the colonial policy with tax increases and austerity measures. The internal political differences culminated in the [[Bava Beccaris massacre]] in Milan. There, on 7 May 1898, there were mass demonstrations against rising bread prices. General [[Fiorenzo Bava-Beccaris]], after the state of siege was declared, fired artillery and rifles at the crowd.<ref>[[Ada Negri]] dedicated a sonnet to the event entitled [https://archive. org/stream/maternita00negruoft#page/193/mode/1up {{lang|it|Sette maggio 1898}}] (in the adaptation by Hedwig Jahn with the title "The Seventh of May 1898" published in {{lang|de|Mutterschaft}}, Berlin 1905, p. 104).</ref> Depending on the information, between 82 and 300 people were killed.<ref>[[Adolphus William Ward]], [[George Walter Prothero]], [[Stanley Leathes]] (ed.): ''Riots at Milan''. In: ''[[The Cambridge Modern History]], Vol. XII, The Latest Age.'' University Press, Cambridge 1910, p. 220 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=vas8AAAAIAAJ PA220 online]).</ref><ref>Raffaele Colapietra: [http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/fiorenzo-bava-beccaris_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/ ''Bava Beccaris, Fiorenzo''] In : Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Treccani, vol. 7 (1970).</ref> King [[Umberto I of Italy|Umberto I]] congratulated the general in a telegram and awarded him a medal. This made him enemies, and in 1900 he, who had been king for 22 years, was shot in [[Monza]] by the anarchist [[Gaetano Bresci]].

His successor was [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] politically dominant however was [[Giovanni Giolitti|Giolitti]], who was initially Minister of the Interior from 1901 to 1903, then prime minister from 1903 with interruptions until 1914 (and often also Minister of the Interior at the same time). He dominated or shaped Italian politics to such an extent that one speaks of the ''Giolitti era''. He was willing to make concessions to the reformist and revolutionary movements and promoted industrialization. It is true that state subsidies for private health insurance were introduced in 1886 and the first compulsory accident insurance was introduced in 1898,<ref>Ute Klammer: ''Old age security in Italy. An institutional, theoretical and empirical analysis.'' Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1997, p. 87f.</ref> but it was Giolitti that introduced state social insurance in 1912 based on the German model. He also reformed the right to vote so that there were no more property limits and the number of eligible voters rose to 8 million men. Unemployment insurance came into being as early as 1919, eight years before Germany.<ref>[[Georg Wannagat]]: ''Textbook of social insurance law.'' Vol. 1, Mohr, Tübingen 1965, p. 83.</ref>

In the 1880s there were serious industrial disputes, and around 1889 repression against the Partito Operaio (Labour Party) began, so that the aim was to unite all socialist organizations in the country in one party. The [[Fasci Siciliani]], short for "Fasci siciliani dei lavoratori", Italian Sicilian Workers' Union was perceived as the "first act of Italian socialism". The movement, led by Prime Minister [[Francesco Crispi|Crispi]], was crushed after harsh military operations. The industrial workers managed to organize in 1892 in the [[Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani]] (Italian Workers' Party), which in 1893 was renamed [[Partito Socialista Italiano]] (Italian Socialist Party). Prime Minister [[Francesco Crispi]] pushed through exceptional laws against the Socialists from 1894, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1901 his successor [[Giovanni Giolitti]] tried to integrate the party, which had won 32 seats in the elections, into the government, but the latter refused. But from 1908 to 1912 there was cooperation with the bourgeois left until radical syndicalism prevailed. In 1912 the [[Partito Socialista Riformista Italiano]] split off, which for patriotic reasons agreed to the [[Italian-Turkish War|War against the Ottomans]]. In 1917, the majority of socialist deputies became pro-war, but the party leadership continued to oppose the war.

{| class="wikitable""
|+ Population development of the Kingdom of Italy, by year (1861–1946)<ref>{{Webarchive|url=http://www.populstat.info/Europe/italyc.htm |wayback=20181002115943 |text=''Bevölkerungsentwicklung Italiens seit 1700'' |archiv-bot=2022-03-13 00:24:45 InternetArchiveBot}} auf populstat.info</ref>
|-
!scope="col"| Measure
!scope="col"| 1861
!scope="col"| 1870
!scope="col"| 1880
!scope="col"| 1890
!scope="col"| 1900
!scope="col"| 1910
!scope="col"| 1920
!scope="col"| 1930
!scope="col"| 1940
!scope="col"| 1946
|-
!scope="row"| Population in millions
| 22.182
| 25.766
| 28.437
| 30.947
| 32.475
| 34.565
| 37.837
| 40.703
| 43.787
| 45.380
|}

The state reaction to the drastic social changes came very late, because the social elites, landowners in the south and industrialists in the north, refused for a long time and often relied on the work of the church, which had dominated the social systems since the Middle Ages. However, it was no longer supported by an adequate municipal or guild system. The population of Italy increased from 18.3 million in 1800 to 24.7 in 1850, finally to 33.8 in 1900.<ref>Massimo Livi Bacci ''Europe and its people. Eine Population History'', Munich: Beck 1999, p. 19 (Italian Bari: Laterza 1998).</ref> Nevertheless, Italy's share of the population of Europe continued to fall. On the one hand, this was due to its developmental deficit and, on the other hand, to the fact that from about 1852 there was a large-scale mass emigration. By 1985, around 29 million people had been recorded. From 1876 to around 1890, most came from the north, especially from Venetia (17.9%), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (16.1%) and Piedmont (12.5%). After that, Italians from the south increasingly emigrated. From 1876 to 1915, more than 14 million people emigrated chiefly for [[South America|south]] and [[North America|north]] America, of which 8.3 million came from the northern half, including 2.7 million alone from the northeast and from the southern half 5.6 million emigrated.<ref>[http://www.emigrati.it/Emigrazione/CariAmici.asp HOME emigrati.it]</ref> The main destinations were the United States of America, in which the descendants of the Italians ([[Italian Americans]]) today represent the third largest European immigrant group after [[German Americans|Germans]] and [[Irish Americans|Irish]] with a population share of 6%, along with [[Argentina]] ([[Italian Argentines]]), [[Brazil]] ([[Italian Brazilians]]) and [[Uruguay]] ([[Italian Uruguayans]]). Many also emigrated to [[Canada]], [[Australia]] and other Latin American countries.

[[File:ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS (1905) ELLIS ISLAND NY.png|thumb|Italian immigrants arriving at [[Ellis Island]] in 1905]]

The main reason for emigration was widespread poverty, especially among the rural population. Up until the 1950s, parts of Italy remained a rural, agrarian, and pre-modern society, with agricultural conditions not suitable for keeping farmers in the country, particularly in the northeast and south.<ref name="MacDonald"/> The extent of emigration can be explained on the one hand by the decline of agriculture and the sharp conflicts, which were exacerbated by the preservation of old structures and the lack of capital as well as by large landowners and half-tenancy. At the same time, the hesitant [[industrialization]] in the fast-growing cities hardly offered enough jobs. In addition, domestic consumption was low, especially since the [[fiscalism]] that was believed to be necessary to expand infrastructure continued to weigh on incomes. After all, the companies were equipped with only little capital compared to the foreign ones. Therefore, the government set up high tariff barriers from 1878 to 1887 and pursued a protectionist policy intended to protect the still weak textile and heavy industry in the development phase. France in turn responded to the protective tariff policy with corresponding counter-tariffs.

While [[industrialization]] was promoted and [[infrastructure]] expanded in the north, the government in the south supported the [[latifundia]], whereby in both cases the protagonists of heavy industry and agriculture were able to assert their influence in the north and south. In central Italy there was a different system for the peasants. Land could be leased here and they could keep a relatively large amount, so there was less migration from this part of the country than from other parts. There was less migration from large cities, but there was a major exception to this. [[Naples]] was the capital of the [[Kingdom of Naples]] and later of the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] for six hundred years and in 1861 became simply a city in the united Italy. As a result, many bureaucratic jobs were lost and there was a lot of unemployment. Due to a [[cholera]] epidemic in the 1880s, many people also decided to leave the city. In the south the unification abolished the feudal system that had survived since the [[middle ages]]. However, this did not mean that the farmers now got their own land that they could work on. Many remained without property and plots became smaller and smaller and thus more unproductive after lands were divided among heirs. Another reason was the [[overpopulation]], especially in the [[Southern Italy|south]] ({{lang|it|Mezzogiorno}}). After unification southern Italy established access to running water and medical care in hospitals for the first time. This reduced infant mortality and, together with what had been the highest birth rate in Europe for a long time, led to an increase in population, which in turn forced many young southern Italians to emigrate at the beginning of the 20th century.

Currency policy caused major problems, because during the Franco-Prussian War Italy also suspended free [[convertibility]]. Now the [[gold standard]] prevailed, which ensured that banknotes could only be issued in a fixed proportion to the [[gold reserve]]s. It was expected that this would stabilize currency relations through the gold automatism, whereby the respective [[central banks]] had to adhere to strict rules. If a [[currency]] became weaker, this led to a gold outflow in the direction of the stronger currency, with the result that the banknote issue had to be reduced in line with the reduced gold reserves. This raised interest rates and lowered prices. In contrast, in the country where gold was flocking, this created more paper money in circulation, lowering interest rates and raising prices. At a certain point, the flow of gold reversed, the [[balance of payments]] settled, and the currency stabilized. Even if the central banks often did not comply with the guidelines, the system was successful because people trusted that money and gold could be exchanged at any time. By linking the [[Latin Monetary Union]], founded in 1865 and based on bimetallism, i.e. gold and silver coins, and thus the [[Italian lira|lira]] to gold, the government was able to create so much trust that foreign investment capital after Italy came. Treasury Secretary [[Sidney Sonnino]] also tried to put a strain on large fortunes in the same way as consumption was put under pressure, but he failed due to conservative opposition. With the overcoming of the economic crisis from 1896, it was nevertheless possible to achieve a balanced budget.

<gallery>
File:Italienische Emigration pro Region 1876-1915.svg|Italian emigration per region from 1876 to 1900 and from 1901 to 1915
File:Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg|Map of the [[Italian diaspora]] in the world
</gallery>

====Southern question and Italian diaspora====
{{See also|Southern question|Brigandage in Southern Italy after 1861|Italian diaspora}}
[[File:Briganti lucani Caruso Cafo Lamacchia e Tinna.jpg|thumb|Some Lucanian brigands: [[Giuseppe Caruso (brigand)|Caruso]], Cafo, Lamacchia and Tinna]]

Italy's population remained severely divided between wealthy elites and impoverished workers, especially in the South. An 1881 census found that over 1&nbsp;million southern day-laborers were chronically under-employed and likely to become seasonal emigrants to sustain themselves economically.<ref name="Clark_7">Clark, Martin. 1984. ''Modern Italy: 1871–1982.'' London and New York: Longman Group UK Limited. pp. 15</ref> Southern peasants, as well as small landowners and tenants, often were in a state of conflict and revolt throughout the late 19th century.<ref>Clark 1984. p. 16</ref> There were exceptions to the generally poor economic condition of agricultural workers of the South, as some regions near cities such as [[Naples]] and [[Palermo]] as well as along the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] coast.<ref name="Clark_7"/> From the 1870s onward, intellectuals, scholars and politicians examined the economic and social conditions of [[southern Italy]] ({{lang|it|Il Mezzogiorno}}), a movement known as {{lang|it|Meridionalismo}} ("Meridionalism"). For example, the ''1910 Commission of Inquiry into the South'' indicated that the Italian government thus far had failed to ameliorate the severe economic differences. The limited voting rights only to those with sufficient property allowed rich landowners to exploit the poor.<ref>Clark 1984. pp. 17–18.</ref> This situation of persistent backwardness in the socioeconomic development of the regions of southern Italy compared to the other regions of the country, especially the [[Northern Italy|northern ones]], is called [[Southern question]].

The transition from a peninsula divided into several states to a unified Italy was not smooth for the south (the {{lang|it|[[Mezzogiorno]]}}). The path to unification and modernization created a divide between Northern and Southern Italy. People condemned the South for being "backwards" and barbaric, when in truth, compared to Northern Italy, "where there was backwardness, the lag, never excessive, was always more or less compensated by other elements".<ref>Antonio Carlo, "Against the 'Southern Question{{'"}} (1974)</ref> The entire region south of Naples was afflicted with numerous deep economic and social liabilities.<ref>Nelson Moe, ''The View from Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question'' (2002)</ref> However, many of the South's political problems and its reputation of being "passive" or lazy (politically speaking) was due to the new government (that was born out of Italy's want for development) that alienated the South and prevented the people of the South from any say in important matters. However, on the other hand, transportation was difficult, soil fertility was low with extensive erosion, deforestation was severe, many businesses could stay open only because of high protective tariffs, large estates were often poorly managed, most peasants had only very small plots, and there was chronic unemployment and high crime rates.<ref name="Roland Sarti 2004 pp 567">Roland Sarti, ''Italy: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present'' (2004) pp 567–568</ref>

Cavour decided the basic problem was poor government, and believed that could be remedied by strict application of the Piedmonese legal system. The main result was an upsurge in [[brigandage in the Two Sicilies|brigandage]], which turned into a bloody civil war that lasted almost ten years. The insurrection reached its peak mainly in [[Basilicata]] and northern [[Apulia]], headed by the brigands [[Carmine Crocco]] and Michele Caruso.<ref>Giuseppe Massari, Stefano Castagnola, {{lang|it|Il brigantaggio nelle province napoletane}}, Fratelli Ferrario, 1863, p.17, 20</ref> With the end of the southern riots, there was a heavy outflow of millions of peasants in the [[Italian diaspora]], especially to the United States and South America. Others relocated to the northern industrial cities such as Genoa, Milan and Turin, and sent money home.<ref name="Roland Sarti 2004 pp 567" />

The first Italian diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the [[Risorgimento|Unification of Italy]], and ended in the 1920s to the early 1940s with the rise of [[Kingdom of Italy under Fascism (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]].<ref name="Pozzetta, George E. 1992">Pozzetta, George E., Bruno Ramirez, and Robert F. Harney. The Italian Diaspora: Migration across the Globe. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1992.</ref> Poverty was the main reason for emigration, specifically the lack of land as {{lang|it|[[mezzadria]]}} [[sharecropping]] flourished in Italy, especially in the South, and property became subdivided over generations. Especially in [[Southern Italy]], conditions were harsh.<ref name="Pozzetta, George E. 1992"/> Until the 1860s to 1950s, most of Italy was a [[rural society]] with many small towns and cities and almost no modern industry in which land management practices, especially in the South and the [[Northeastern Italy|northeast]], did not easily convince farmers to stay on the land and to work the soil.<ref name="MacDonald">{{cite journal | last = McDonald | first = J.S. | title = Some Socio-Economic Emigration Differentials in Rural Italy, 1902-1913 | journal = Economic Development and Cultural Change | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = 55–72 |date=October 1958 | doi = 10.1086/449779 | s2cid = 153889304 | issn = 0013-0079}}</ref>

Another factor was related to the overpopulation of Southern Italy as a result of the improvements in socioeconomic conditions after [[Unification of Italy|Unification]].<ref>Sori, Ercole. {{lang|it|L'emigrazione italiana dall' Unità alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale}}. First chapter</ref> That created a demographic boom and forced the new generations to emigrate en masse in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, mostly to the [[Americas]].<ref name="Italy's Many Diasporas">{{cite book|last1=Gabaccia|first1=Donna|title=Italy's Many Diasporas| date=200|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|pages=58–80}}</ref> The new migration of capital created millions of unskilled jobs around the world and was responsible for the simultaneous mass migration of Italians searching for "work and bread" ({{langx|it|pane e lavoro}}, {{IPA|it|ˈpaːne e llaˈvoːro|lang}}).<ref>{{cite book| last=Pozzetta|first=George E.|title=Pane e Lavoro: The Italian American Working Class|date=1980| publisher=Multicultural History Society of Ontorio|location=Toronto}}</ref>
[[File:2016 - Vittoriano (Rome) 07.jpg|thumb|upright|One of the two braziers that burn perpetually on the sides of the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy)|tomb of the Italian Unknown Soldier]] at [[Altare della Patria]] in [[Rome]]. At their base there is a plaque bearing the inscription {{lang|it|Gli italiani all'estero alla Madre Patria}} ("Italians abroad to the Motherland").]]

The [[Unification of Italy]] broke down the feudal land system, which had survived in the south since the Middle Ages, especially where land had been the inalienable property of aristocrats, religious bodies or the king. The breakdown of [[feudalism]], however, and redistribution of land did not necessarily lead to small farmers in the south winding up with land of their own or land they could work and make profit from. Many remained landless, and plots grew smaller and smaller and so less and less productive, as land was subdivided amongst heirs.<ref name="MacDonald"/>

Between 1860 and World War I, 9 million Italians left permanently of a total of 16 million who emigrated, most travelling to North or South America.<ref name="Hatton">{{cite journal | last = Hatton | first = Timothy J. and Jeffrey G. Williamson | title = What Drove the Mass Migrations from Europe in the Late Nineteenth Century? | journal = Population and Development Review | volume = 20 | issue = 3 | pages = 533–559 |date=September 1994 | doi = 10.2307/2137600 | author2 = Williamson, Jeffrey G | publisher = Population Council | issn = 0098-7921 | jstor = 2137600| url = http://www.nber.org/papers/h0043.pdf}}</ref> The numbers may have even been higher; 14 million from 1876 to 1914, according to another study. Annual emigration averaged almost 220,000 in the period 1876 to 1900, and almost 650,000 from 1901 through 1915. Prior to 1900 the majority of Italian immigrants were from northern and central Italy. Two-thirds of the migrants who left Italy between 1870 and 1914 were men with traditional skills. Peasants were half of all migrants before 1896.<ref name="Italy's Many Diasporas"/>

The bond of the emigrants with their mother country continued to be very strong even after their departure. Many Italian emigrants made donations to the construction of the [[Altare della Patria]] (1885–1935), a part of the monument dedicated to King [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy]], and in memory of that, the inscription of the plaque on the two burning braziers perpetually at the Altare della Patria next to the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy)|tomb of the Italian Unknown Soldier]], reads {{lang|it|Gli italiani all'estero alla Madre Patria}} ("Italians abroad to the Motherland").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://serenaitalian.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/il-vittoriano-roma/|title=Il Vittoriano – Roma|date=26 March 2014|access-date=7 January 2018|language=it}}</ref> The [[Allegory|allegorical]] meaning of the flames that burn perpetually is linked to their symbolism, which is centuries old, since it has its origins in [[classical antiquity]], especially in the [[Funeral|cult of the dead]].<ref name="fiamma">{{cite web|url=http://www.toscanaoggi.it/Cultura-Societa/Il-mito-della-lampada-perenne|title=Il mito della "lampada perenne"|date=13 January 2010 |access-date=12 February 2018|language=it}}</ref> A fire that burns eternally symbolizes that the memory, in this case of the sacrifice of the Unknown Soldier and the [[Fatherland|bond of the country of origin]], is perpetually alive in Italians, even in those who are far from their country, and will never fade.<ref name="fiamma"/>

===Education===
{{main|Education in Italy}}
[[File:Literacy rates in Italy 1861.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Literacy rates in Italy in 1861, shortly after the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]]. Italy lacks [[Lazio]] and the [[Triveneto]], which were subsequently annexed.]]

In Italy a state school system or education system has existed since 1859, when the {{lang|it|Legge Casati}} (Casati Act) mandated educational responsibilities for the forthcoming Italian state ([[Italian unification]] took place in 1861).

The Casati Act made primary education ({{lang|it|scuola elementare}}) compulsory, and had the goal of increasing [[literacy]]. This law gave control of primary education to the single towns, of secondary education to the [[Provinces of Italy|provinces]], and the universities were managed by the State. Even with the Casati Act and compulsory education, in rural (and southern) areas children often were not sent to school (the rate of children enrolled in primary education would reach 90% only after 70 years) and the illiteracy rate (which was nearly 80% in 1861) took more than 50 years to halve.

The next important law concerning the Italian education system was the {{lang|it|[[Legge Gentile]]}}. This act was issued in 1923, thus when [[Benito Mussolini]] and his [[National Fascist Party]] were in power. In fact, [[Giovanni Gentile]] was appointed the task of creating an education system deemed fit for the fascist system. The compulsory age of education was raised to 14 years, and was somewhat based on a ladder system: after the first five years of primary education, one could choose the {{lang|it|scuola media}}, which would give further access to the {{lang|it|liceo}} and other secondary education, or the 'avviamento al lavoro' (work training), which was intended to give a quick entry into the low strates of the workforce. The reform enhanced the role of the {{lang|it|Liceo Classico}}, created by the Casati Act in 1859 (and intended during the Fascist era as the peak of secondary education, with the goal of forming the future upper classes), and created the Technical, Commercial and Industrial institutes and the {{lang|it|Liceo Scientifico}}. The influence of Gentile's [[Italian idealism]] was great,<ref>Moss, M. E. (2004). ''Mussolini's fascist philosopher: Giovanni Gentile reconsidered''. New York: P. Lang. pp 26–73.</ref> and he considered the Catholic religion to be the "foundation and crowning" of education.

=== Liberal era of politics (1870–1914) ===
[[File:Galleria Milano (179532365).jpeg|thumb|[[Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II]] in [[Milan]] was an architectural work created by [[Giuseppe Mengoni]] between 1865 and 1877 and named after the first king of unified Italy, [[Victor Emmanuel II]].]]
After unification, Italy's politics favored [[liberalism]]:{{efn|In 1848, [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour]] had formed a parliamentary group in the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] Parliament named the {{lang|it|Partito Liberale Italiano}} (Italian Liberal Party). From 1860, with the [[Italian unification|Unification of Italy]] substantially realized and the death of Cavour himself in 1861, the Liberal Party was split into at least two major factions or new parties later known as the {{lang|it|Destra Storica}} on the right wing, who substantially assembled the Count of Cavour's followers and political heirs; and the {{lang|it|Sinistra Storica}} on the left wing, who mostly reunited the followers and sympathizers of [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] and other former [[Giuseppe Mazzini|Mazzinians]]. The Historical Right ({{lang|it|Destra Storica}}) and the Historical Left ({{lang|it|Sinistra Storica}}) were composed of royalist liberals. At the same time, radicals organized themselves into the [[Italian Radical Party|Radical Party]] and republicans into the [[Italian Republican Party]].}} the liberal-conservative right ({{lang|it|destra storica}} or Historical Right) was regionally fragmented{{efn|The liberal-conservative Historical Right was dominated from 1860 to 1876 (also after it was no more at the govern) by the leadership of elected Representatives from [[Emilia Romagna]] (1860–1864) and [[Tuscany]] (1864–1876), known as the {{lang|it|Consorteria}}, with the support of the Lombard and Southern Italian representatives. The majority of the Piemontese liberal-conservative representatives, but not all of them, organized themselves as the all-Piemontese and more right-wing party's minority: the {{lang|it|Associazione Liberale Permanente}} (Permanent Liberal Association), who sometimes voted with the Historical Left and whose leading representative was [[Quintino Sella]]. The party's majority was also weakened by the substantial differences between the effective liberal-conservative (Toscano and Emiliano) leadership and Lombards on one side and the quietly conservative Southern and "Transigent Roman Catholic" components on the other side. ([[Indro Montanelli]], {{lang|it|Storia d'Italia}}, volume 32).}} and liberal-conservative prime minister [[Marco Minghetti]] only held on to power by enacting revolutionary and left-leaning policies (such as the nationalization of railways) to appease the opposition.

==== Agostino Depretis ====
In 1876, Minghetti was ousted and replaced by liberal [[Agostino Depretis]], who began the long Liberal Period. The Liberal Period was marked by corruption, government instability, continued poverty in Southern Italy and the use of authoritarian measures by the Italian government.
[[File:Agostino Depretis.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Agostino Depretis]]]]

Depretis began his term as prime minister by initiating an experimental political notion known as {{lang|it|[[trasformismo]]}} ("transformism"). The theory of {{lang|it|trasformismo}} was that a cabinet should select a variety of moderates and capable politicians from a non-partisan perspective. In practice, {{lang|it|trasformismo}} was authoritarian and corrupt as Depretis pressured districts to vote for his candidates if they wished to gain favourable concessions from Depretis when in power. The results of the Italian general election of 1876 resulted in only four representatives from the right being elected, allowing the government to be dominated by Depretis. Despotic and corrupt actions are believed to be the key means by which Depretis managed to keep support in Southern Italy. Depretis put through authoritarian measures, such as banning public meetings, placing "dangerous" individuals in internal exile on remote penal islands across Italy and adopting militarist policies. Depretis enacted controversial legislation for the time, such as abolishing arrest for debt and making elementary education free and compulsory while ending compulsory religious teaching in elementary schools.<ref>Smith (1997), pp. 95–107</ref>

[[File:Triple Alliance.png|thumb|upright=1.5|The [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] in 1913, shown in red]]
In 1887, [[Francesco Crispi]] became prime minister and began focusing government efforts on foreign policy. Crispi worked to build Italy as a great world power through increased military expenditures, advocacy of expansionism<ref>Smith (1997), pp. 132–133</ref> and trying to win the favor of [[German Empire|Germany]]. Italy joined the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]], which included both Germany and [[Austria-Hungary]] in 1882 and which remained officially intact until 1915. While helping Italy develop strategically, he continued {{lang|it|trasformismo}} and became authoritarian, once suggesting the use of martial law to ban opposition parties.<ref>Smith (1997), p. 133</ref> Despite being authoritarian, Crispi put through liberal policies such as the Public Health Act of 1888 and established tribunals for redress against abuses by the government.<ref>Smith (1997), p. 128</ref>

==== Francesco Crispi ====
[[Francesco Crispi]] was prime minister for a total of six years, from 1887 until 1891 and again from 1893 until 1896. Historian R. J. B. Bosworth says of his foreign policy:
{{Blockquote|Crispi pursued policies whose openly aggressive character would not be equaled until the days of the Fascist regime. Crispi increased military expenditure, talked cheerfully of a European conflagration, and alarmed his German or British friends with signs of preventative attacks on his enemies. His policies were ruinous for Italy's trade with France and, more humiliatingly, for colonial ambitions in Eastern Africa. Crispi's lust for territory there was thwarted when on 1 March 1896, the armies of Ethiopian Emperor Menelik routed Italian forces at Adowa [...] an unparalleled disaster for a modern army. Crispi, whose private life (he was perhaps a trigamist) and personal finances [...] were objects of perennial scandal, went into dishonorable retirement.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth |first=R.J.B. |title=Italy and the Wider World: 1860–1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VL1vjYQRR-0C&pg=PA29|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|page=29|isbn=9781134780884|access-date=2015-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910232956/https://books.google.com/books?id=VL1vjYQRR-0C&pg=PA29|archive-date=2015-09-10|url-status=live}}</ref>|sign=|source=}}

Crispi greatly admired the United Kingdom, but was unable to get British assistance for his aggressive foreign policy and turned instead to Germany.<ref>Christopher Duggan. "Francesco Crispi's relationship with Britain: from admiration to disillusionment". ''Modern Italy'' (2011) 16#4 pp.&nbsp;427–436</ref> Crispi also enlarged the army and navy and advocated expansionism as he sought Germany's favor by joining the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] which included both Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1882. It remained officially intact until 1915 and prevented hostilities between Italy and Austria, which controlled border regions that Italy claimed.

==== Colonialism ====
{{clear}}
{{Main|Italian Empire|Italian Eritrea|Italian Somaliland|Italian Tripolitania|Italian Cyrenaica|Italian Libya}}
{{see also|Italian colonization of Libya|Concessions of Italy in China|Italian concession of Tianjin|Treaty of Addis Ababa}}
[[File:Francesco Crispi crop.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|[[Francesco Crispi]] promoted the Italian colonialism in Africa in the late 19th century.]]

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Italy emulated the Great Powers in acquiring colonies, especially in the scramble to take control of [[Africa]] that took place in the 1870s. Italy was weak in military and economic resources compared to Britain, France and Germany. Still, it proved difficult due to popular resistance. It was unprofitable due to high military costs and the lesser economic value of spheres of influence remaining when Italy began to colonize. Britain was eager to block French influence and assisted Italy in gaining territory of the Red Sea.<ref>Agatha Ramm, "Great Britain and the Planting of Italian Power in the Red Sea, 1868–1885," ''English Historical Review'' (1944) 59#234 pp. 211–236 {{JSTOR|554002}}</ref>

Several colonial projects were undertaken by the government. These were done to gain the support of Italian nationalists and imperialists, who wanted to rebuild a Roman Empire. Italy had already large settlements in [[Alexandria]], [[Cairo]] and [[Tunis]]. Italy first attempted to gain colonies through negotiations with other world powers to make colonial concessions, but these negotiations failed. Italy also sent missionaries to uncolonized lands to investigate the potential for Italian colonization. The most promising and realistic of these were parts of Africa. Italian missionaries had already established a foothold at [[Massawa]] (in present-day [[Eritrea]]) in the 1830s and had entered deep into the [[Ethiopian Empire]].<ref>Smith (1997), pp. 115–117.</ref>
[[File:Massaua 1886. Veduta del campo Gherar. Soldati de Genio Ferrovieri fra le rotaie che avrebbero collegato Massaua a Saati (Foto Ledru e Nicorta).jpg|thumb|Members of the [[Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment]] during the construction of the rails to connect [[Massawa]] to Saati in [[Italian Eritrea]], 1886.]]
[[File:Cartolina Giovanni Pastorelli.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Ain Zara|Ain Zara oasis]] during the [[Italo-Turkish War]]: propaganda postcard made by the Italian Army]]

The beginning of colonialism came in 1885, shortly after the fall of [[History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty|Egyptian rule]] in [[Khartoum]], when Italy landed soldiers at [[Massawa]] in East Africa. In 1888, Italy annexed Massawa by force, creating the colony of [[Italian Eritrea]]. The Eritrean ports of Massawa and Assab handled trade with Italy and Ethiopia. The trade was promoted by the low duties paid on Italian trade. Italy exported manufactured products and imported coffee, beeswax and hides.<ref>H. Ahmad Abdussamad, "Trade Relations of Northern Ethiopia with Italian Eritrea 1903–1935," ''Africa'' (1997) 52#3 pp&nbsp;416–430 {{JSTOR|40761155}}</ref> At the same time, Italy occupied territory on the south side of the horn of Africa, forming what would become [[Italian Somaliland]].

The [[Treaty of Wuchale]], signed in 1889, stated in the Italian language version that Ethiopia was to become an Italian protectorate, while the Ethiopian Amharic language version stated that the Ethiopian Emperor [[Menelik II of Ethiopia|Menelik II]] could go through Italy to conduct foreign affairs. This happened presumably due to the mistranslation of a verb, which formed a permissive clause in Amharic and a mandatory one in Italian.<ref>{{cite news|title=Languages of Diplomacy: Towards a Fairer Distribution|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/04/languages-diplomacy|newspaper=The Economist|date=2 April 2013|access-date=6 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117103115/https://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/04/languages-diplomacy|archive-date=17 November 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> When the differences in the versions came to light, in 1895 Menelik II abrogated the treaty and abandoned the agreement to follow Italian foreign policy.<ref>Barclay (1997), p. 34</ref> Because of the Ethiopian refusal to abide by the Italian version of the treaty and despite economic handicaps at home, the Italian government decided on a military solution to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. In doing so, they believed that they could exploit divisions within Ethiopia and rely on tactical and technological superiority to offset any inferiority in numbers. As a result, Italy and Ethiopia came into confrontation, in what was later to be known as the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Vestal|first=Theodore M.|editor1=Paulos Milkias |editor2=Getachew Metaferia|title=The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia's Historic Victory Against European Colonialism|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nljca_pOqrEC&pg=PA26|year=2005|publisher=Algora|isbn=978-0-87586-414-3|pages=21–35|chapter=Reflections on the Battle of Adwa and its Significance for Today}}</ref>

The Italian army failed on the battlefield and was overwhelmed by a huge Ethiopian army at the [[Battle of Adwa]]. At that point, the Italian invasion force was forced to retreat into Eritrea. The war formally ended with the [[Treaty of Addis Ababa]] in 1896, which abrogated the Treaty of Wuchale, recognizing Ethiopia as an independent country. The failed Ethiopian campaign was one of the few military victories scored by the Africans against an imperial power at this time.<ref>Raymond Anthony Jonas, ''The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire'' (2011) [https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Adwa-African-Victory-Empire/dp/0674052749/ except and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018190912/https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Adwa-African-Victory-Empire/dp/0674052749 |date=2016-10-18}}</ref>

[[File:Italian mounted infantry in China 1900 HD-SN-99-01989.jpg|thumb|Italian mounted infantry in [[Qing Dynasty|China]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in 1900]]
From 2 November 1899 to 7 September 1901, Italy participated as part of the [[Eight-Nation Alliance]] forces during the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in [[China]]. On 7 September 1901, a concession in [[Tianjin|Tientsin]] was ceded to Italy by the [[Qing Dynasty]]. On 7 June 1902, the concession was taken into Italian possession and administered by an Italian [[Consul (representative)|consul]].

In 1911, Italy declared war on the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Italo-Turkish War|invaded]] [[Tripolitania]], [[Fezzan]] and [[Cyrenaica]]. These provinces together formed what became known as [[Italian Libya|Libya]]. The war ended only one year later, but the occupation resulted in acts of discrimination against Libyans, such as the forced deportation of Libyans to the [[Tremiti Islands]] in October 1911. By 1912, one-third of these Libyan refugees had died from a lack of food and shelter.<ref>Bosworth, RJB (2005) ''Mussolini's Italy'', New Work: Allen Lane, {{ISBN|0-7139-9697-8}}, p. 50</ref> The annexation of Libya led nationalists to advocate Italian domination of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] by occupying [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]] and the [[Adriatic Sea]] coastal region of [[Dalmatia]].<ref>Bosworth (2005), p 49</ref>
{{clear}}

==== Giovanni Giolitti ====
[[File:Giovanni Giolitti 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|[[Giovanni Giolitti]] was [[Prime Minister of Italy]] five times between 1892 and 1921.]]
In 1892, [[Giovanni Giolitti]] became Prime Minister of Italy for his first term. Although his first government quickly collapsed one year later, Giolitti returned in 1903 to lead Italy's government during a fragmented period until 1914. Giolitti had spent his earlier life as a civil servant and then took positions within the cabinets of Crispi. Giolitti was the first long-term Italian Prime Minister because he mastered the political concept of {{lang|it|[[trasformismo]]}} by manipulating, coercing and bribing officials to his side. In elections during Giolitti's government, voting fraud was common. Giolitti helped improve voting only in well-off, more supportive areas while attempting to isolate and intimidate poor areas where opposition was strong.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis (1997) ''Modern Italy; A Political History'', Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, {{ISBN|0-472-10895-6}}, p. 199</ref> Southern Italy was in terrible shape before and during Giolitti's tenure as Prime Minister: four-fifths of southern Italians were illiterate, and the dire situation there ranged from problems of large numbers of absentee landlords to rebellion and even starvation.<ref>Smith (1997), p. 209–210</ref> Corruption was such a large problem that Giolitti himself admitted that there were places "where the law does not operate at all".<ref>Smith (1997), p. 199</ref>
[[File:Zeplin orta.jpg|thumb|upright|Italian dirigibles bomb Turkish positions in Libya, as the [[Italo-Turkish War]] of 1911–1912 was the first in history in which air attacks (carried out here by dirigible airships) determined the outcome.]]

In 1911, Giolitti's government sent forces to occupy Libya. While the success of the [[Italian invasion of Libya|Libyan War]] improved the status of the nationalists, it did not help Giolitti's administration as a whole. The government attempted to discourage criticism by speaking about Italy's strategic achievements and inventiveness of their military in the war: Italy was the [[Giulio Gavotti|first country]] to use the [[airship]] for military purposes and undertook [[strategic bombing|aerial bombing]] on the Ottoman forces.<ref>Bosworth, Richard. (1983). ''Italy and the Approach of the First World War''. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd, p. 42</ref> The war radicalized the [[Italian Socialist Party]], and anti-war revolutionaries called for violence to bring down the government. [[1913 Italian general election|Elections were held in 1913]], and Giolitti's coalition retained an absolute majority in the Chamber of Deputies, while the [[Italian Radical Party|Radical Party]] emerged as the largest opposition bloc. The Italian Socialist Party gained eight seats and was the largest party in [[Emilia-Romagna]].<ref name="Corbetta">Piergiorgio Corbetta; Maria Serena Piretti, {{lang|it|Atlante storico-elettorale d'Italia}}, Zanichelli, [[Bologna]] 2009. {{ISBN|978-88-080-6751-7}}</ref> Giolitti's coalition did not endure long after the election, and he was forced to resign in March 1914. Giolitti later returned as Prime Minister only briefly in 1920, but the era of liberalism was effectively over in Italy.

The [[1913 Italian general election|1913]] and [[1919 Italian general election|1919]] elections saw gains made by Socialist, Catholic and nationalist parties at the expense of the traditionally dominant Liberals and [[Italian Radical Party|Radicals]], who were increasingly fractured and weakened as a result.

=== World War I and failure of the liberal state (1915–1922) ===
{{See also|Italian entry into World War I|Italian Front (World War I)|Military history of Italy during World War I|Italian Campaign (World War I)}}
[[File:Trento 3 novembre 1918.jpg|thumb|left|Italian cavalry in [[Trento]] on 3 November 1918, after the victorious [[Battle of Vittorio Veneto]]]]

Italy entered into the [[First World War]] in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the First World War is also considered the [[Fourth Italian War of Independence]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|title=Il 1861 e le quattro Guerre per l'Indipendenza (1848-1918)|date=6 March 2015|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075828/http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|url-status=dead}}</ref> in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the [[unification of Italy]].<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|title=La Grande Guerra nei manifesti italiani dell'epoca|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923183754/http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LntMIUOXngC&q=%22quarta+guerra+d%27indipendenza%22&pg=PA41|title=Il Manuale di Storia in Italia, di Piergiovanni Genovesi|isbn=9788856818680|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|last1=Genovesi|first1=Piergiovanni|date=11 June 2009|publisher=FrancoAngeli}}</ref>

The war forced the decision whether to honor the alliance with Germany and Austria. For six months Italy remained neutral, as the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] was only for defensive purposes. Italy took the initiative in entering the war in spring 1915, despite strong popular and elite sentiment in favor of neutrality.  Italy was a large, poor country whose political system was chaotic, its finances were heavily strained, and its army was very poorly prepared.<ref>William A. Renzi, ''In the Shadow of the Sword: Italy's Neutrality and Entrance Into the Great War, 1914–1915'' (1987).</ref> The Triple Alliance meant little either to Italians or Austrians – Vienna had declared war on Serbia without consulting Rome. Prime Minister [[Antonio Salandra]] and Foreign Minister [[Sidney Sonnino]] negotiated with both sides in secret for the best deal, and got one from the Entente, which was quite willing to promise large slices of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including the [[History of Tyrol|Tyrol]] and [[Trieste]], as well as making [[Albania]] a protectorate. Russia vetoed giving Italy [[Dalmatia]]. Britain was willing to pay subsidies and loans to get 36 million Italians as new allies who threatened the southern flank of Austria.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lowe |first1=C.J. |year=1969 |title=Britain and Italian Intervention 1914–1915 |journal=Historical Journal |volume=12 |issue=3|pages=533–548 |doi=10.1017/s0018246x00007275|s2cid=162738142}}</ref>

[[File:Liberazione di Trieste.jpg|thumb|Italian troops landing in [[Trieste]], 3 November 1918]]
When the [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London]] was announced in May 1915, there was an uproar from antiwar elements. Reports from around Italy showed the people feared war, and cared little about territorial gains. Rural folk saw war as a disaster, like drought, famine or plague. Businessmen were generally opposed, fearing heavy-handed government controls and taxes, and loss of foreign markets. Reversing the decision seemed impossible, for the Triple Alliance did not want Italy back, and the king's throne was at risk. Pro-war supporters mobbed the streets. The fervor for war represented a bitterly hostile reaction against politics as usual, and the failures, frustrations, and stupidities of the ruling class.<ref>Martin Clark, ''Modern Italy: 1871–1995'' (1996) pp. 180–85</ref><ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy: A Modern History'' (1969) pp. 292–305.</ref> [[Benito Mussolini]] created the newspaper {{lang|it|[[Il Popolo d'Italia]]}}, which at first attempted to convince socialists and revolutionaries to support the war.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gregor|first=Anthony James|title=Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTZ_holEfS0C&pg=PA200|year=1979|publisher=U. of California Press|page=200|isbn=9780520037991|access-date=2015-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921204225/https://books.google.com/books?id=DTZ_holEfS0C&pg=PA200|archive-date=2015-09-21|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]], eager to draw Italy to the war, helped finance the newspaper.<ref>Clark, Martin. 1996. ''Modern Italy: 1871–1995''. (2nd ed. Longman), p. 183.</ref> Later, after the war, this publication would become the official newspaper of the Fascist movement.

[[File:Sacrario militare di Redipuglia agosto 2014.JPG|thumb|The [[Redipuglia War Memorial]] of [[Fogliano Redipuglia|Redipuglia]], with the tomb of [[Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta]] in the foreground]]
Italy entered the war with an army of 875,000 men, but the army was poorly led and lacked heavy artillery and machine guns, their war supplies having been largely depleted in [[Italo-Turkish War|the war of 1911–12]] against Turkey. Italy proved unable to prosecute the war effectively, as fighting raged for three years on a very narrow front along the [[Battles of the Isonzo|Isonzo River]], where the Austrians held the high ground. In 1916, Italy declared war on Germany, which provided significant aid to the Austrians. Some 650,000 Italian soldiers died and 950,000 were wounded, while the economy required large-scale Allied funding to survive.<ref>Martin Clark, ''Modern Italy: 1871–1995'' (1996) pp 185–94.</ref><ref>Smith, ''Italy: A Modern History'' (1969) pp 307–13.</ref>

Before the war the government had ignored labor issues, but now it had to intervene to mobilize war production. With the main working-class Socialist party reluctant to support the war effort, strikes were frequent and cooperation was minimal, especially in the Socialist strongholds of Piedmont and Lombardy. The government imposed high wage scales, as well as collective bargaining and insurance schemes.<ref>Luigi Tomassini, "Industrial Mobilization and the labour market in Italy during the First World War," ''Social History'', (1991), 16#1 pp 59–87</ref> Many large firms expanded dramatically. Inflation doubled the cost of living. Industrial wages kept pace but not wages for farm workers. Discontent was high in rural areas since so many men were taken for service, industrial jobs were unavailable, wages grew slowly and inflation was just as bad.<ref>Tucker, ''European Powers in the First World War'', p 375–76</ref>

The Italian victory,<ref>Burgwyn, H. James: ''Italian foreign policy in the interwar period, 1918–1940.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997. p. 4.
{{ISBN|0-275-94877-3}}</ref><ref>Schindler, John R.: ''Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. p. 303. {{ISBN|0-275-97204-6}}</ref><ref>Mack Smith, Denis: ''Mussolini.'' Knopf, 1982. p. 31. {{ISBN|0-394-50694-4}}</ref> which was announced by the {{lang|it|[[Bollettino della Vittoria]]}} and the {{lang|it|[[Bollettino della Vittoria Navale]]}}, marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] and was chiefly instrumental in [[Armistice with Germany|ending]] the First World War less than two weeks later. More than 651,000 Italian soldiers died on the battlefields.<ref name=Mortara>Giorgio Mortara, {{lang|it|La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra}}, G. Laterza & figli, 1925, pp. 28-29, 165.</ref> The Italian civilian deaths were estimated at 589,000 due to malnutrition and food shortages.<ref>{{cite book|first=Liebmann|last=Hersch|author-link=Liebmann Hersch |title=La mortalité causée par la guerre mondiale |publisher=The International Review of Statistics |year=1927|pages=52–59|language=fr}}</ref> In November 1918, after the surrender of Austria-Hungary, Italy occupied militarily [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol|Trentino Alto-Adige]], the [[Julian March]], [[Istria]], the [[Kvarner Gulf]] and [[Dalmatia]], all Austro-Hungarian territories. On the Dalmatian coast, Italy established the [[Governorate of Dalmatia#The first Governorate of Dalmatia|Governorate of Dalmatia]], which had the provisional aim of ferrying the territory towards full integration into the Kingdom of Italy, progressively importing national legislation in place of the previous one. The administrative capital was [[Zadar|Zara]]. The Governorate of Dalmatia was evacuated following the Italo-Yugoslav agreements which resulted in the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]] (1920).

[[File:Promised Borders of the Tready of London.png|thumb|right|Territories promised to Italy by the [[Treaty of London (1915)]], i.e. [[Trentino-Alto Adige]], the [[Julian March]] and [[Dalmatia]] (tan), and the [[Snežnik (plateau)|Snežnik Plateau]] area (green). Dalmatia, after WWI, however, was not assigned to Italy but to [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]].]]

As the war came to an end, [[Italian Prime Minister]] [[Vittorio Emanuele Orlando]] met with [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[David Lloyd George]], [[Prime Minister of France]] [[Georges Clemenceau]] and [[President of the United States|United States President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] in [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] to discuss how the borders of [[Europe]] should be redefined to help avoid a future European war. The talks provided little territorial gain to Italy as Wilson promised freedom to all European nationalities to form their nation-states. As a result, the [[Treaty of Versailles]] did not assign [[Dalmatia]] and [[Albania]] to Italy as had been promised in the [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London]]. Furthermore, the British and French decided to divide the German overseas colonies into their mandates, with Italy receiving none. Italy also gained no territory from the breakup of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Despite this, Orlando agreed to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which caused uproar against his government. The [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] (1919) and the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]] (1920) allowed the annexation of [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol|Trentino Alto-Adige]], the [[Julian March]], [[Istria]], [[Kvarner Gulf|Kvarner]] as well as the [[Dalmatia]]n city of [[Zadar|Zara]].

Furious over the peace settlement, the Italian nationalist poet [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]] led disaffected war veterans and nationalists to form the [[Free State of Fiume]] in September 1919. His popularity among nationalists led him to be called {{lang|it|[[Il Duce]]}} ("The Leader"), and he used black-shirted paramilitary in his assault on Fiume. The leadership title of {{lang|it|Duce}} and the blackshirt paramilitary uniform would later be adopted by the [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] movement of [[Benito Mussolini]]. The demand for the Italian annexation of Fiume spread to all sides of the political spectrum, including Mussolini's Fascists.<ref>Smith (1997), p. 293.</ref>

The subsequent [[Treaty of Rome (1924)|Treaty of Rome]] (1924) led to the annexation of the city of [[Fiume]] to Italy. Italy's lack of territorial gain led to the outcome being denounced as a ''[[mutilated victory]]''. The rhetoric of ''mutilated victory'' was adopted by Mussolini and led to the [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|rise of]] [[Italian fascism]], becoming a key point in the [[propaganda of Fascist Italy]]. Historians regard ''mutilated victory'' as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel [[Italian imperialism]] and obscure the successes of [[liberal Italy]] in the aftermath of World War I.<ref>G.Sabbatucci, {{lang|it|La vittoria mutilata}}, in AA.VV., {{lang|it|Miti e storia dell'Italia unita}}, Il Mulino, Bologna 1999, pp.101-106</ref> Italy also gained a permanent seat in the [[League of Nations]]'s executive council.

=== Fascist regime, World War II, and Civil War (1922–1946) ===
{{Main|Fascist Italy}}

====Rise of Fascism into power====
{{Main|Italian Fascism}}
[[File:Mussolini mezzobusto.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Benito Mussolini]], who titled himself {{lang|it|[[Duce]]}} and [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|ruled the country from 1922 to 1943]]]]

[[Benito Mussolini]] created the {{lang|it|[[Fasci di Combattimento]]}} or Combat League in 1919. It was originally dominated by patriotic socialist and [[syndicalist]] veterans who opposed the pacifist policies of the Italian Socialist Party. This early Fascist movement had a platform more inclined to the left, promising social revolution, proportional representation in elections, women's suffrage (partly realized in 1925) and dividing rural private property held by estates.<ref>Passmore ''Women, Gender and Fascism'', pp.&nbsp;11–16.</ref><ref>Smith (1997), pp. 284–286.</ref> They also differed from later Fascism by opposing [[censorship]], [[militarism]] and [[dictatorship]].<ref name="Smith 1997, pp. 284">Smith (1997), pp. 284.</ref>

[[File:March on Rome.jpg|thumb|left|[[Benito Mussolini]] during the [[March on Rome]] in 1922]]
At the same time, the so-called {{lang|it|[[Biennio Rosso]]}} (red biennium) took place in the two years following the war in a context of economic crisis, high unemployment and political instability. The 1919–20 period was characterized by mass strikes, worker manifestations as well as self-management experiments through land and factory occupations. In [[Turin]] and [[Milan]], [[workers councils]] were formed and many [[factory occupations]] took place under the leadership of [[anarcho-syndicalist]]s. The agitations also extended to the agricultural areas of the [[Padan plain]] and were accompanied by peasant strikes, rural unrests and guerilla conflicts between left-wing and right-wing militias. Thenceforth, the Fasci di Combattimento (forerunner of the [[National Fascist Party]], 1921) successfully exploited the claims of Italian nationalists and the quest for order and normalization of the middle class. In October 1922, Mussolini took advantage of a general strike to announce his demands to the Italian government to give the Fascist Party political power or face a coup. With no immediate response, a group of 30,000 Fascists began a long trek across Italy to Rome (the [[March on Rome]]), claiming that Fascists were intending to restore law and order. The Fascists demanded Prime Minister [[Luigi Facta]]'s resignation and that Mussolini be named to the post. Although the Italian Army was far better armed than the Fascist militias, the liberal system and King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] were facing a deeper political crisis. The King was forced to choose which of the two rival movements in Italy would form the government: Mussolini's Fascists, or the marxist [[Italian Socialist Party]]. He selected the Fascists.

[[File:Giacomo Matteotti crop.jpg|thumb|Socialist leader [[Giacomo Matteotti]] was murdered a few days after he openly denounced Fascist violence during the 1924 elections.]]
Mussolini formed a coalition with nationalists and liberals, and in 1923 passed the electoral [[Acerbo Law]], which assigned two-thirds of the seats to the party that achieved at least 25% of the vote. The Fascist Party used violence and intimidation to achieve the threshold in the [[Italian general election, 1924|1924 election]], thus obtaining control of Parliament. Socialist deputy [[Giacomo Matteotti]] was assassinated after calling for a nullification of the vote. The parliament opposition responded to Matteotti's assassination with the [[Aventine Secession (20th century)|Aventine Secession]].

Over the next four years, Mussolini eliminated nearly all checks and balances on his power. On 24 December 1925, he passed a law that declared he was responsible to the king alone, making him the sole person able to determine Parliament's agenda. Local governments were dissolved, and appointed officials (called {{lang|it|[[podestà]]}}) replaced elected mayors and councils. In 1928, all political parties were banned, and parliamentary elections were replaced by plebiscites in which the Grand Council of Fascism nominated a single list of 400 candidates. [[Christopher Duggan]] argues that his regime exploited Mussolini's popular appeal and forged a cult of personality that served as the model that was emulated by dictators of other fascist regimes of the 1930s.<ref>Christopher Duggan, ''Fascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini's Italy'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fascist-Voices-Intimate-History-Mussolinis/dp/1847921035/ excerpt]</ref>

In summary, historian [[Stanley G. Payne]] says that Fascism in Italy was:
:A primarily political dictatorship. The Fascist Party itself had become almost completely bureaucratized and subservient to, not dominant over, the state itself. Big business, industry, and finance retained extensive autonomy, particularly in the early years. The armed forces also enjoyed considerable autonomy. ... The Fascist militia was placed under military control. The judicial system was left largely intact and relatively autonomous as well. The police continued to be directed by state officials and were not taken over by party leaders, nor was a major new police elite created. There was never any question of bringing the Church under overall subservience. Sizable sectors of Italian cultural life retained extensive autonomy, and no major state propaganda-and-culture ministry existed. The Mussolini regime was neither especially sanguinary nor particularly repressive.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stanley G.|last=Payne|title=A History of Fascism, 1914–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_MeR06xqXAC&pg=PA122|year=1996|publisher=U of Wisconsin Press|page=122|isbn=978-0-299-14873-7}}</ref>

====End of the Roman question====
[[File:Group of Vatican and Italian government notables posing at the Lateran Palace before the signing of the treaty.jpg|thumb|Vatican and Italian delegations prior to signing the [[Lateran Treaty]]]]

During the [[Italian unification|unification of Italy]] in the mid-19th century, the [[Papal States]] resisted incorporation into the new nation. The nascent Kingdom of Italy invaded and occupied [[Romagna]] (the eastern portion of the Papal States) in 1860, leaving only [[Lazio|Latium]] in the pope's domains. Latium, including Rome itself, was [[Capture of Rome|occupied]] and annexed in 1870. For the following sixty years, relations between the Papacy and the Italian government were hostile, and the status of the pope became known as the "[[Roman question]]".
The [[Lateran Treaty]] was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]] and the [[Holy See]] under [[Pope Pius XI]] to settle the question. The treaty and associated pacts were signed on 11 February 1929.<ref name="SignDate">{{cite web|quote=The world's smallest sovereign state was born on 11 February 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy|access-date=2 September 2021|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-02/vatican-city-lateran-treaty-holy-see-pope.html|website=Vatican News|date=11 February 2020|title=Vatican City turns 91}}</ref> The treaty recognized [[Vatican City]] as an [[independent state]] under the sovereignty of the Holy See. The Italian government also agreed to give the [[Roman Catholic Church]] financial compensation for the loss of the [[Papal States]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of Western Society|year=2010|url=https://archive.org/details/sourcesofwestern0000unse|url-access=registration|publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's|page=900|edition=Tenth}}</ref> In 1948, the Lateran Treaty was recognized in the [[Constitution of Italy]] as regulating the relations between the state and the Catholic Church.<ref name="constitution7">[[s:Constitution of Italy|Constitution of Italy, article 7]].</ref> The treaty was significantly revised in 1984, ending the status of Catholicism as the sole state religion.

====Foreign politics====
{{Further|Italian Empire|Italian irredentism}}
[[File:RegioniIrredenteItalia.jpg|thumb|left|Italian ethnic regions claimed by the [[Italian irredentism]] in the 1930s:
* Green: [[Italian irredentism in Nice|Nice]], [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland|Ticino]] and [[Italian irredentism in Dalmatia|Dalmatia]]
* Red: [[Italian irredentism in Malta|Malta]]
* Violet: [[Italian irredentism in Corsica|Corsica]]
* [[Italian irredentism in Savoy|Savoy]] and [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]] were later claimed.]]

Lee identifies three major themes in Mussolini's foreign policy. The first was a continuation of the foreign-policy objectives of the preceding Liberal regime. Liberal Italy had allied itself with Germany and Austria, and had great ambitions in the Balkans and North Africa.  Ever since it had been badly defeated in Ethiopia in 1896, there was a strong demand for seizing that country. Second was a profound disillusionment after the heavy losses of the First World War; the small territorial gains from Austria were not enough to compensate. Third was Mussolini's promise to restore the pride and glory of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen J.|last=Lee|title=European Dictatorships, 1918–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-mm5UDlzBEC&pg=PA157|year=2008|publisher=Routledge |pages=157–58|isbn=978-0-415-45484-1}}</ref>

Italian Fascism is based upon [[Italian nationalism]] and in particular seeks to complete what it considers as the incomplete project of {{lang|it|[[Risorgimento]]}} by incorporating {{lang|it|[[Italian irredentism|Italia Irredenta]]}} (unredeemed Italy) into the state of Italy.<ref name="autogenerated1922">Aristotle A. Kallis. ''Fascist ideology: territory and expansionism in Italy and Germany, 1922–1945''. London, England, UK; New York City, US: Routledge, 2000, p. 41.</ref><ref name="autogenerated3">Terence Ball, Richard Bellamy. The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought. Pp. 133</ref> To the east of Italy, the Fascists claimed that [[Italian irredentism in Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] was a land of Italian culture.<ref>Jozo Tomasevich. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford, California, US: Stanford University Press, 2001. p. 131.</ref> To the south of Italy, the Fascists claimed [[Italian irredentism in Malta|Malta]], which belonged to the United Kingdom, and [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]], which belonged to Greece, to the north claimed [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland|Italian Switzerland]], while to the west claimed [[Italian irredentism in Corsica|Corsica]], [[Italian irredentism in Nice|Nice]] and [[Italian irredentism in Savoy|Savoy]], which belonged to France.<ref>Aristotle A. Kallis. ''Fascist Ideology: Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922–1945''. London, England; UK; New York, New York, US: Routledge, 2000. P. 118.</ref><ref>''Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986, 1999. P. 38.</ref>

[[File:Italy aims Europe 1936.png|thumb|Ambitions of Fascist Italy in Europe in 1936.<br/>Legend:{{Legend|#073A09|Metropolitan Italy and dependent territories;}}{{Legend|#0F7612|[[Client state]]s;}}{{Legend|#083A39|Claimed territories to be annexed;}}{{Legend|#107776|Territories to be transformed into client states.}} [[Albania]], which was a client state, was considered a territory to be annexed.]]

Mussolini promised to bring Italy back as a [[great power]] in Europe, building a "New Roman Empire" and holding power over the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. In [[Propaganda in Fascist Italy|propaganda]], Fascists used the ancient Roman motto "{{lang|la|[[Mare Nostrum]]}}" ([[Latin]] for "Our Sea") to describe the Mediterranean. For this reason the Fascist regime engaged in [[interventionism (politics)|interventionist foreign policy]] in Europe. In 1923, the Greek island of [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]] was briefly occupied by Italy, after the assassination of [[Enrico Tellini|General Tellini]] in Greek territory. In 1925, [[Albanian Republic (1925–1928)|Albania]] came under heavy Italian influence as a result of the [[First and Second Treaties of Tirana|Tirana Treaties]], which also gave Italy a stronger position in the Balkans.<ref>{{Cite book|title=From the Industrial Revolution to World War II in East Central Europe|publisher=[[LIT Verlag]]|year=2011|isbn=9783643901293|pages=193}}</ref> Relations with France were mixed. The Fascist regime planned to regain Italian-populated areas of France.<ref name="Smith_3">Smith. 1983. p172</ref> With the rise of Nazism, it became more concerned of the potential threat of Germany to Italy. Due to concerns of German expansionism, Italy joined the [[Stresa Front]] with France and the United Kingdom, which existed from 1935 to 1936. The Fascist regime held negative relations with Yugoslavia, as it continued to claim Dalmatia.

During the [[Spanish Civil War]] between the socialist [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republicans]] and [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Nationalists]] led by [[Francisco Franco]], Italy sent arms and over 60,000 troops to aid the Nationalist faction. This secured Italy's naval access to Spanish ports and increased Italian influence in the Mediterranean. During the 1930s, Italy strongly pursued a policy of naval rearmament; by 1940, the {{Lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} was the fourth largest navy in the world.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R69173, Münchener Abkommen, Staatschefs.jpg|thumb|left|alt=[[Neville Chamberlain|Chamberlain]], [[Édouard Daladier|Daladier]], [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]], Mussolini, and Italian foreign minister Count Ciano, as they prepared to sign the Munich Agreement|From left to right: Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Italian foreign minister [[Count Ciano]] at the signing of [[Munich Agreement]]]]

Mussolini and [[Adolf Hitler]] first met in June 1934, when Mussolini opposed German plans to annex Austria to ensure that Nazi Germany would not become hegemonic in Europe. Public appearances and propaganda constantly portrayed the closeness of Mussolini and Hitler and the similarities between Italian Fascism and German [[Nazism|National Socialism]]. While both ideologies had significant similarities, the two factions were suspicious of each other, and both leaders were in competition for world influence.

[[File:Hitler and Mussolini June 1940.jpg|thumb|Mussolini and Hitler in June 1940]]
In 1935 Mussolini decided to invade [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]]; 2,313 Italians and 275,000 Ethiopians died.<ref>Clodfelter 2017: 355</ref> The [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] resulted in the international isolation of Italy; the only nation to back Italy's aggression was Nazi Germany. After being condemned by the [[League of Nations]], Italy decided to leave the League on 11 December 1937.<ref>Gilbert, Martin (introduction). 1939. ''The Illustrated London News: Marching to War, 1933–1939''. Toronto, Canada: Doubleday Canada Ltd. Pp 137</ref> Mussolini had little choice but to join Hitler in international politics, thus he reluctantly abandoned support of Austrian independence and Hitler proceeded with the {{lang|de|[[Anschluss]]}}, the annexation of Austria, in 1938. Mussolini later supported German claims on [[Sudetenland]] at the [[Munich Conference]]. In 1938, under influence of Hitler, Mussolini supported the adoption of antisemitic [[Manifesto of Race|racial laws]] in Italy. After Germany annexed [[Czechoslovakia]] in March 1939, [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italy invaded Albania]] and made it an [[Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943)|Italian protectorate]].

As war approached in 1939, the Fascist regime stepped up an aggressive press campaign against France claiming that its Italian residents were suffering.{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|page=397}} This was important to the alliance as both regimes mutually had claims on France: Germany on German-populated [[Alsace-Lorraine]] and Italy on the mixed Italian and French populated [[Nice]] and [[Corsica]]. In May 1939, a formal alliance with Germany was signed, known as the [[Pact of Steel]]. Mussolini felt obliged to sign the pact in spite of his own concerns that Italy could not fight a war in the near future. This obligation grew from his promises to Italians that he would build an empire for them and from his personal desire to not allow Hitler to become the dominant leader in Europe.{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|page=401}} Mussolini was repulsed by the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] agreement where Germany and the [[Soviet Union]] agreed to partition the [[Second Polish Republic]] into German and Soviet zones for an impending invasion. The Fascist government saw this as a betrayal of the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], but decided to remain officially silent.{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|page=401}}

====World War II and fall of Fascism====
{{Main|Military history of Italy during World War II|Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy}}
[[File:ProgettoImperoItaliano.jpg|thumb|left|Map of ''Great Italy'' according to the 1940 fascist project in case Italy had won the [[Second World War]] (The orange line delimits metropolitan Italy, the green line the borders of the enlarged [[Italian Empire]].)]]

When Germany [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]] on 1 September 1939 beginning [[World War II]], Mussolini chose to stay [[non-belligerent]], although he declared his support for Hitler. In drawing out war plans, Mussolini and the Fascist regime decided that Italy would aim to annex large portions of Africa and the Middle East. Hesitance remained from the King and military commander [[Pietro Badoglio]] who warned Mussolini that Italy had too few [[tank]]s, [[armored car (military)|armoured vehicles]], and aircraft available to be able to carry out a long-term war; Badoglio told Mussolini "It is suicide" for Italy to get involved in the [[European Theater of World War II|European conflict]].{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|page=405}} Mussolini and the Fascist regime thus waited as France was invaded by Germany in June 1940 ([[Battle of France]]) before deciding to get involved.

Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, fulfilling its obligations towards the Pact of Steel. Mussolini hoped to quickly capture [[Savoy]], Nice, Corsica, and the African colonies of Tunisia and Algeria from the French, on June 21, Italy [[Italian invasion of France|invaded France]] but their achieved with only modest gains due to the [[Franco-Italian Armistice]] on 24 June, but Germany signed an armistice (22 June: [[Second Armistice at Compiègne]]) with Marshal [[Philippe Pétain]] establishing [[Vichy France]], that retained control over southern France and colonies. This decision angered the Fascist regime.{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|page=406}} In summer 1940, Mussolini ordered the [[Italian bombing of Mandatory Palestine in World War II|bombing of Mandatory Palestine]] and the [[Italian conquest of British Somaliland|conquest of British Somaliland]]. In September, he ordered the [[Italian invasion of Egypt|invasion of Egypt]]; despite initial success, Italian forces were soon driven back by the British (see [[Operation Compass]]). Hitler had to intervene with the sending of the [[Afrika Korps]] of General [[Erwin Rommel]], that was the mainstay in the [[North African campaign]]. Although Rommel himself was officially under Italian command.

On 28 October, Mussolini launched [[Greco-Italian War|an attack]] on Greece. However, the Greeks not only proved a more capable opponent successfully repelling the initial attack, but also managed to push the Italians back to Albania. Hitler came to Mussolini's aid by attacking the Greeks through the Balkans. The [[Balkans Campaign (World War II)|Balkans Campaign]] had as result the dissolution of Yugoslavia and Greece's defeat. Italy gained [[Province of Ljubljana|south Slovenia]], [[Governorate of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]], [[Italian governorate of Montenegro|Montenegro]] and established the puppet states of [[Independent State of Croatia|Croatia]] and [[Hellenic State]]. By 1942, it was faltering as its economy failed to adapt to the conditions of war and Italian cities were being heavily bombed by the Allies. Also, despite the Axis advances, the campaign in North Africa began to fail in late 1942. The complete collapse came after the decisive defeat at [[Second Battle of El Alamein|El Alamein]].
[[File:Italian troops charging in North Africa (retouched).jpg|thumb|Italian troops in North Africa]]

By 1943, Italy was losing on every front. Half of the Italian forces [[Eastern Front (World War II)|fighting in the Soviet Union]] had been destroyed,{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|page=412}} the African campaign had failed, the Balkans remained unstable, and Italians wanted an end to the war.{{sfn|Mack Smith|1997|pages=412–413}} In July 1943, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invaded Sicily]] in an effort to knock Italy out of the war and establish a foothold in Europe. On 25 July, [[25 Luglio|Mussolini was ousted]] by the [[Gran Consiglio del Fascismo|Great Council of Fascism]] and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III, who appointed General [[Pietro Badoglio]] as new [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]]. Badoglio stripped away the final elements of Fascist rule by banning the [[National Fascist Party]], then signed the [[Armistice of Cassibile]] and the [[Italian Instrument of Surrender|instrument of surrender]] on 29 September.

Donald Detwiler notes that "Italy's entrance into the war showed very early that her military strength was only a hollow shell. Italy's military failures against France, Greece, Yugoslavia and in the African Theatres of war shook Italy's new prestige mightily."<ref>{{cite book|first1=Donald S.|last1=Detwiler|first2=Charles B.|last2=Burdick|first3=Jürgen|last3=Rohwer|title=World War II German Military Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XfzAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|page=96|publisher=Garland Pub. |isbn=978-0-8240-4313-1}}</ref> Historians have long debated why Italy's military and its Fascist regime were so remarkably ineffective at an activity – war – that was central to their identity.  MacGregor Knox says the explanation, "was first and foremost a failure of Italy's military culture and military institutions."<ref>{{cite book|first=MacGregor|last=Knox|title=Hitler's Italian Allies: Royal Armed Forces, Fascist Regime, and the War of 1940–1943|url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersitalianal00knox|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge UP|page=[https://archive.org/details/hitlersitalianal00knox/page/10 10]|isbn=978-1-139-43203-0}}</ref>  Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen argue that "the Regia Aeronautica failed to perform effectively in modern conflict."<ref>{{cite book|first1=Norman|last1=Polmar|first2=Thomas B.|last2=Allen|title=World War II: the Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30gRAGjXrIIC&pg=PA421|year=2012|page=421|publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-47962-0}}</ref>  James Sadkovich gives the most charitable interpretation of Italian failures, blaming inferior equipment, overextension, and inter-service rivalries. Its forces had "more than their share of handicaps."<ref>James J. Sadkovich, "Understanding Defeat: Reappraising Italy's Role in World War II," ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1989) 24#1 pp. 27–61  [https://www.jstor.org/stable/260699 online].</ref>

====Civil War, Allied advance, and Liberation====
{{Further|Italian Civil War|Liberation of Italy}}
[[File:Flag of Italian Committee of National Liberation.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[National Liberation Committee]]]]
[[File:Quattrogiornate.jpg|thumb|Insurgents celebrating the liberation of Naples, after the [[Four days of Naples]] (27–30 September 1943)]]

Soon after being ousted, Mussolini was rescued by a German commando in [[Gran Sasso raid|Operation Eiche]] ("Oak"). The Germans brought Mussolini to northern Italy where he set up a Fascist puppet state, the [[Italian Social Republic]] (RSI). Meanwhile, the Allies advanced in southern Italy. In September 1943, [[Four days of Naples|Naples]] rose against the occupying German forces. The Allies organized some royalist Italian troops into the [[Italian Co-Belligerent Army]], while other troops continued to fight alongside Nazi Germany in the {{lang|it|Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano}}, the [[National Republican Army]]. A large [[Italian resistance movement]] started a long [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] against the German and Fascist forces,<ref>G. Bianchi, {{lang|it|La Resistenza}}, in: AA.VV., {{lang|it|Storia d'Italia}}, vol. 8, pp. 368-369.</ref> while clashes between the Fascist RSI Army and the Royalist Italian Co-Belligerent Army were rare.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pavone |first=Claudio |title=Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza |location=Torino |publisher=Bollati Boringhieri |year=1991 |isbn= 88-339-0629-9 |language=it |page=238}}</ref> The Germans, often helped by Fascists, committed several [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|atrocities]] against Italian civilians in occupied zones, such as the [[Ardeatine massacre]] and the [[Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre]]. The Kingdom of Italy declared war on Nazi Germany on 13 October 1943;<ref name=italyswitchesstayinwar>{{cite news|url=https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/oct-13-1943-italy-switches-sides-in-world-war-ii/|title=Oct. 13, 1943 {{!}} Italy Switches Sides in World War II|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 October 2011|access-date=29 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-declares-war-on-germany|title=Italy declares war on Germany|publisher=History.com|access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref> tensions between the Axis Powers and the Italian military were rising following the failure to defend Sicily.<ref name=italyswitchesstayinwar />

On 4 June 1944, the German occupation of Rome came to an end as the Allies advanced. The final Allied victory over the Axis in Italy did not come until the spring offensive of 1945, after Allied troops had breached the [[Gothic Line]], leading to the surrender of German and Fascist forces in Italy on 2 May shortly before Germany finally surrendered ending World War II in Europe on 8 May. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60,000 Allied and 50,000 German soldiers died in Italy.{{efn|In ''Alexander's Generals'' Blaxland quotes 59,151 Allied deaths between 3 September 1943 and 2 May 1945 as recorded at AFHQ and gives the breakdown between 20 nationalities: United States 20,442; United Kingdom, 18,737; France, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Belgium 5,241; Canada, 4,798; India, Pakistan, Nepal 4,078; Poland 2,028; New Zealand 1,688; Italy (excluding irregulars) 917; South Africa 800; Brazil 275; Greece 115; [[Jewish Brigade|Jewish volunteers]] from the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate in Palestine]] 32. In addition, 35 soldiers were killed by enemy action while serving with pioneer units from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Cyprus and the West Indies<ref name="Blax11">Blaxland (1979), p. 11</ref>}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-316-1181-11, Italien, Benito Mussolini mit italienischen Soldaten.jpg|thumb|left|The head of the [[Italian Social Republic]], [[Benito Mussolini]], with a soldier in 1944]]
During World War II, [[Italian war crimes]] included [[extrajudicial killing]]s and [[ethnic cleansing]]<ref name="JamesBurgwyn_2004">James H. Burgwyn (2004). [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005 General Roatta's war against the partisans in Yugoslavia: 1942] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054155/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005 |date=21 September 2013}}, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 9, Number 3, pp. 314–329(16)</ref> by the deportation of about 25,000 people, mainly Jews, Croats, and Slovenians, to the [[List of Italian concentration camps|Italian concentration camps]], such as [[Rab concentration camp|Rab]], [[Gonars concentration camp|Gonars]], [[Monigo]], [[Renicci di Anghiari]] and elsewhere. [[Yugoslav Partisans]] perpetrated their own crimes against the local ethnic Italian population during and after the war, including the [[foibe massacres]]. In Italy and Yugoslavia, unlike in Germany, few war crimes were prosecuted.<ref name="RoryCarroll_2001">[https://web.archive.org/web/20130716012326/http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2001/jun/25/artsandhumanities.highereducation Italy's bloody secret] (archived by [[WebCite]]), written by [[Rory Carroll]], Education, [[The Guardian]], June 2001</ref><ref name="Pedaliu_JContHistory">[[Effie Pedaliu]] (2004) {{JSTOR|4141408?}} Britain and the 'Hand-over' of Italian War Criminals to Yugoslavia, 1945–48. Journal of Contemporary History. Vol. 39, No. 4, Special Issue: Collective Memory, pp. 503–529</ref><ref name="oliva06">[[Gianni Oliva|Oliva, Gianni]] (2006) [http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/si-ammazza-troppo-poco-crimini/libro/9788804551294 ''«Si ammazza troppo poco». I crimini di guerra italiani. 1940–43''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720023109/http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/si-ammazza-troppo-poco-crimini/libro/9788804551294 |date=20 July 2011}}, Mondadori, {{ISBN|88-04-55129-1}}</ref><ref name="blpp2004">Baldissara, Luca & Pezzino, Paolo (2004). ''Crimini e memorie di guerra: violenze contro le popolazioni e politiche del ricordo'', L'Ancora del Mediterraneo. {{ISBN|978-88-8325-135-1}}</ref>
[[File:01 partigiani a milano1.jpg|thumb|[[Italian resistance movement|Italian anti-fascist partisans]] in Milan during the [[liberation of Italy]], April 1945]]

On 25 April 1945 the [[National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy]] proclaimed a general insurrection in all the territories still occupied by the Nazis, indicating to all the partisan forces active in Northern Italy that were part of the Volunteer Corps of Freedom to attack the fascist and German garrisons by imposing the surrender, days before the arrival of the Allied troops; at the same time, the National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy personally issued legislative decrees,<ref>There are three fundamental decrees that seal the legislative work, already active since 1944: ''All powers to CLNAI''; ''Decree for the administration of justice''; ''Of socialization''.</ref> assuming power "in the name of the Italian people and as a delegate of the Italian Government", establishing among other things the death sentence for all fascist hierarchs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.associazioni.milano.it/isec/ita/cronologia/crono25apr.htm|title=Fondazione ISEC - cronologia dell'insurrezione a Milano - 25 aprile|access-date=14 February 2022|language=it}}</ref> Today the event is commemorated in Italy every 25 April by the [[Liberation Day (Italy)|Liberation Day]], [[National Day]] introduced on 22 April 1946, which celebrates the liberation of the country from [[fascism]].<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1946-04-24&atto.codiceRedazionale=046U0185&elenco30giorni=false |title =DECRETO LEGISLATIVO LUOGOTENENZIALE 22 aprile 1946, n. 185|access-date =28 April 2015| language=Italian}}</ref>

Mussolini was captured on 27 April 1945, by [[Partito Comunista Italiano|communist]] [[Italian partisans]] near the Swiss border as he tried to escape Italy. On the next day, he was executed for high treason. Days later on 2 May 1945, the German forces in Italy surrendered. On 9 June 1944, Badoglio was replaced as prime minister by anti-fascist leader [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]. In June 1945 Bonomi was in turn replaced by [[Ferruccio Parri]], who in turn gave way to [[Alcide de Gasperi]] on 4 December 1945. Finally, De Gasperi supervised the transition to a Republic following the abdication of Vittorio Emanuele III on 9 May 1946, the one-month-long reign of his son [[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]] ("King of May") and the [[Italian constitutional referendum, 1946|Constitutional Referendum]] that abolished the monarchy; De Gasperi briefly became acting head of state as well as prime minister on 18 June 1946, but ceded the former role to Provisional President [[Enrico de Nicola]] ten days later.

===Anti-fascism against Mussolini's regime===
{{see also|Anti-fascism}}
[[File:Flag of the Arditi del Popolo Battalion.svg|thumb|left|Flag of {{lang|it|[[Arditi del Popolo]]}}, an axe cutting a [[fasces]]. {{lang|it|Arditi del Popolo}} was a militant [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] group founded in 1921.]]

In Italy, Mussolini's [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] regime used the term ''[[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]]'' to describe its opponents. Mussolini's [[secret police]] was officially known as the [[Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism]] (OVRA). During the 1920s, anti-fascists, many of them from the [[labor movement]], fought against the violent [[Blackshirts]] and against the rise of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. After the [[Italian Socialist Party]] (PSI) signed a [[Pact of Pacification|pacification pact]] with Mussolini and his [[Fasci Italiani di Combattimento|Fasces of Combat]] on 3 August 1921,<ref>Charles F. Delzell, edit., ''Mediterranean Fascism 1919-1945'', New York, NY, Walker and Company, 1971, p. 26</ref> and trade unions adopted a legalist and pacified strategy, members of the workers' movement who disagreed with this strategy formed {{lang|it|[[Arditi del Popolo]]}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf |title=Working Class Defence Organization, Anti-Fascist Resistance and the Arditi Del Popolo in Turin, 1919-22 |access-date=23 September 2021 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319044401/https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Concentrazione_di_azione_antifascista.jpg|thumb|1931 badge of a member of [[Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana]]]]
[[File:Flag of Giustizia e Liberta.svg|thumb|Flag of {{lang|it|[[Giustizia e Libertà]]}}, anti-fascist movement active from 1929 to 1945]]

The [[Italian General Confederation of Labour]] (CGL) and the PSI refused to officially recognize the anti-fascist militia and maintained a non-violent, legalist strategy, while the [[Communist Party of Italy]] (PCd'I) ordered its members to quit the organization. The PCd'I organized some militant groups, but their actions were relatively minor.<ref>[https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf Working Class Defence Organization, Anti-Fascist Resistance and the Arditi Del Popolo in Turin, 1919-22] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319044401/https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17283245.pdf |date=19 March 2022}}, Antonio Sonnessa, in the ''[[European History Quarterly]]'', Vol. 33, No. 2, 183-218 (2003)</ref> The Italian anarchist [[Severino Di Giovanni]], who exiled himself to Argentina following the 1922 [[March on Rome]], organized several bombings against the Italian fascist community.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://anarchist_century.tripod.com/timeline.html |title=Anarchist Century |publisher=Anarchist_century.tripod.com |access-date=7 April 2014 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013634/http://anarchist_century.tripod.com/timeline.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Italian liberal anti-fascist [[Benedetto Croce]] wrote his ''[[Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals]]'', which was published in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bruscino |first=Felicia |date=25 November 2017|title=Il Popolo del 1925 col manifesto antifascista: ritrovata l'unica copia |url=https://www.ultimavoce.it/il-popolo-manifesto-antifascista/ |access-date=23 March 2022|website=Ultima Voce |language=it-IT}}</ref> Other notable Italian liberal anti-fascists around that time were [[Piero Gobetti]] and [[Carlo Rosselli]].<ref>James Martin, 'Piero Gobetti's Agonistic Liberalism', ''History of European Ideas'', '''32''', (2006), pp. 205–222.</ref>

{{lang|it|[[Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana]]}} ({{langx|en|Italian Anti-Fascist Concentration}}), officially known as Concentrazione d'Azione Antifascista (Anti-Fascist Action Concentration), was an Italian coalition of Anti-Fascist groups which existed from 1927 to 1934, trying to promote and to coordinate expatriate actions to fight fascism in Italy; they published a propaganda paper entitled {{lang|it|La Libertà}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pugliese |first1=Stanislao G. |last2=Pugliese |first2=Stanislao |title=Fascism, Anti-fascism, and the Resistance in Italy: 1919 to the Present |date=2004 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-3123-9 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDyqHO2LVosC&pg=PA10 |access-date=11 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tollardo |first=Elisabetta |title=Fascist Italy and the League of Nations, 1922-1935 |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-95028-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6JlDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |page=152 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Scala |first=Spencer M. Di |title=Renewing Italian Socialism: Nenni to Craxi |date=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-536396-8 |pages=6–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8gGaCQDLUsC&pg=PA6 |access-date=11 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> {{lang|it|[[Giustizia e Libertà]]}} ({{langx|en|Justice and Freedom}}) was an Italian [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] [[resistance movement]], active from 1929 to 1945<ref name=jam>James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224.</ref> which shared a belief in active, effective opposition to fascism, compared to the older Italian anti-fascist parties. {{lang|it|Giustizia e Libertà}} also made the international community aware of the realities of fascism in Italy, thanks to the work of [[Gaetano Salvemini]].

Between 1920 and 1943, several anti-fascist movements were active among the [[Slovenes]] and [[Croats]] in the territories annexed to Italy after [[World War I]], known as the [[Julian March]].<ref>[[Milica Kacin Wohinz]], [[Jože Pirjevec]], {{lang|it|Storia degli sloveni in Italia : 1866–1998}} (Venice: Marsilio, 1998)</ref><ref>Milica Kacin Wohinz, {{lang|sl|Narodnoobrambno gibanje primorskih Slovencev : 1921–1928}} (Trieste: Založništvo tržaškega tiska, 1977)</ref> The most influential was the militant insurgent organization [[TIGR]], which carried out numerous sabotages, as well as attacks on representatives of the Fascist Party and the military.<ref>[[Milica Kacin Wohinz]], {{lang|sl|Prvi antifašizem v Evropi}} (Koper: Lipa, 1990)</ref><ref>Mira Cenčič, {{lang|sl|TIGR : Slovenci pod Italijo in TIGR na okopih v boju za narodni obstoj}} (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1997)</ref> Most of the underground structure of the organization was discovered and dismantled by the OVRA in 1940 and 1941,<ref>Vid Vremec, {{lang|sl|Pinko Tomažič in drugi tržaški proces 1941}} (Trieste: Založništvo tržaškega tiska, 1989)</ref> and after June 1941 most of its former activists joined the [[Slovene Partisans]]. Many members of the [[Italian resistance]] left their homes and went to live in the mountains, fighting against Italian fascists and [[Nazi Germany|German Nazi]] soldiers during the [[Italian Civil War]]. Many cities in Italy, including [[Turin]], [[Naples]] and [[Milan]], were freed by anti-fascist uprisings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://darbysrangers.tripod.com/id102.htm |title=Intelligence and Operational Support for the Anti-Nazi Resistance |website=DarbysRangers}}</ref>

=== End of the Kingdom of Italy (1946) ===
====1946 Italian institutional referendum====
{{Main|1946 Italian institutional referendum}}
[[File:Hrh Prince Umberto of Italy, May 1944 TR1829.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Umberto II]], the last [[king of Italy]]]]

Much like [[Japan]] and [[Germany]], the aftermath of World War II left Italy with a destroyed economy, a divided society, and anger against the monarchy for its endorsement of the Fascist regime for the previous twenty years.

Even before the rise of the Fascists, the monarchy was seen to have performed poorly, with society extremely divided between the wealthy North and poor South. World War I resulted in Italy making few gains and was seen as what fostered the rise of Fascism. These frustrations contributed to a revival of the Italian republican movement.<ref>{{Citation|year=1970|title=Italia|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|volume=VI|page=456|publisher=[[Treccani]]|language=it}}</ref> By the spring of 1944, it was obvious Victor Emmanuel was too tainted by his previous support for Mussolini to have any further role. He transferred his constitutional powers to Crown Prince Umberto, whom he named [[Luogotenente|Lieutenant General of the Realm]] and de facto regent.

[[File:Italian referendum 1946 support for republic.svg|thumb|Results of the [[1946 Italian constitutional referendum|1946 referendum]]]]
Victor Emmanuel III nominally remained King until shortly before the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum]] on whether to remain a monarchy or become a republic. On 9 May 1946, he abdicated in favour of the Crown Prince, who then ascended as King [[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]]. However, on 2 June 1946, the republican side won 54% of the vote, and Italy officially became a republic, a day celebrated since as {{lang|it|[[Festa della Repubblica]]}}. This was the first time that Italian women voted at the national level, and the second time overall considering the local elections that were held a few months earlier in some cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insmli.it/pubblicazioni/35/Voto%20donne%20versione%20def.pdf |title=Italia 1946: le donne al voto, dossier a cura di Mariachiara Fugazza e Silvia Cassamagnaghi |access-date=30 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520041048/http://www.insmli.it/pubblicazioni/35/Voto%20donne%20versione%20def.pdf |archive-date=20 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=La prima volta in cui le donne votarono in Italia, 75 anni fa |url=https://www.ilpost.it/2021/03/10/primo-voto-italia-donne-10-marzo-1946/ |access-date=24 August 2021 |work=Il Post |date=10 March 2021 |language=it-IT}}</ref>

The table of results shows some relevant differences in the different parts of Italy. The peninsula seemed to be drastically cut into two as if there were two different homogeneous countries: the North for the republic (with 66.2%); the South for the monarchy (with 63.8%). Some monarchist groups claimed that there was manipulation by northern republicans, socialists and communists. Others argued that Italy was still too chaotic in 1946 to have an accurate referendum.

Umberto II decided to leave Italy on 13 June to avoid the clashes between monarchists and republicans, already manifested in bloody events in various Italian cities, for fear they could extend throughout the country. He went into exile in [[Portugal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/umberto-ii-re-d-italia_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/|title=UMBERTO II re d'Italia in "Enciclopedia Italiana"|language=it|access-date=4 November 2017}}</ref> From 1 January 1948, with the entry into force of the [[Constitution of Italy|Constitution of the Italian Republic]], the male descendants of Umberto II of Savoy were banned from entering Italy; the provision being repealed in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.repubblica.it/online/politica/savoia/fedeli/fedeli.html|title=Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia: "Fedeltà alla Costituzione"|access-date=1 June 2017}}</ref>

==== Aftermath ====
{{Main|Italian Republic|History of the Italian Republic}}
[[File:Alcide de Gasperi 2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Alcide De Gasperi]], [[List of Prime Ministers of Italy|first]] republican [[Prime Minister of Italy]] and one of the [[founding fathers of the European Union]]]]

The [[Constitution of Italy|Republican Constitution]], resulting from the work of a [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|Constituent Assembly]] formed by the representatives of all the [[anti-fascist]] forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the [[liberation of Italy]],<ref>Smyth, Howard McGaw Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943–1946) ''The Western Political Quarterly'' vol. 1 no. 3 (pp. 205–222), September 1948.{{JSTOR|442274}}</ref> was approved on 1 January 1948.

Under the [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947]], [[Istria]], [[Kvarner Gulf|Kvarner]], most of the [[Julian March]] as well as the [[Dalmatia]]n city of [[Zadar|Zara]] was annexed by [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] causing the [[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]], which led to the emigration from 1943 to 1960 of between 230,000 and 350,000 local ethnic [[Italians]] ([[Istrian Italians]] and [[Dalmatian Italians]]), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic [[Istro-Romanians]], choosing to maintain Italian citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |first=Benedetta |last=Tobagi |url=http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html |title=La Repubblica italiana &#124; Treccani, il portale del sapere |publisher=Treccani.it |access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref> Later, the [[Free Territory of Trieste]] was divided between the two states. Italy also lost its colonial possessions, formally ending the [[Italian Empire]]. The Italian border that applies today has existed since 1975, when [[Trieste]] was formally re-annexed to Italy.

Fears of a possible Communist takeover proved crucial for the first universal suffrage electoral outcome on [[Italian general election, 1948|18 April 1948]], when the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democrats]], under the leadership of [[Alcide De Gasperi]], obtained a landslide victory.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV-ti1sYcbcC |title=NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance |author1=Lawrence S. Kaplan |author2=Morris Honick |pages=52–55 |date=2007 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-3917-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Robert Ventresca |title=From Fascism to Democracy: Culture and Politics in the Italian Election of 1948 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=2004 |pages=236–37}}</ref> Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member of [[NATO]]. The [[Marshall Plan]] helped to revive the Italian economy which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth commonly called the "[[Italian economic miracle|Economic Miracle]]". In the 1950s, Italy became one of the six founding countries of the [[European Communities]], following the 1952 establishment of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]], and subsequent 1958 creations of the [[European Economic Community]] and [[European Atomic Energy Community]]. In 1993, the former two of these were incorporated into the [[European Union]].

==Maps of progressive territorial formation of the Kingdom of Italy==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
File:Italia1859.png|The Italian States in 1859, on the eve of the [[Second Italian War of Independence]]
File:Italia1860.png|The [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] in 1860, after the annexation of [[Lombardy]] and before the annexation of the [[United Provinces of Central Italy]]{{efn|Provisional confederation between the pro-Savoy governments of the ex-[[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]], Emilian duchies and Pontifical Romagna, specially created to favor their union with the Kingdom of Sardinia.}}
File:RegnoItalia1861.png|The Kingdom of Italy in 1861, after the [[Expedition of the Thousand]]
File:RegnoItalia1866.png|The Kingdom of Italy in 1866, after the [[Third Italian War of Independence]]
File:RegnoItalia1870.png|The Kingdom of Italy after the conquest of [[Rome]] and [[Lazio]] ([[Capture of Rome]], 20 September 1870)
File:RegnoItalia1919.png|The Kingdom of Italy in 1924, after [[World War I]], comprising the Venices [[Venezia Tridentina|Tridentina]] and [[Venezia Giulia|Giulia]], the city of [[Fiume]] and the [[Dalmatia]]n city of [[Zadar|Zara]]
File:Regno Italia 1943.svg|The Kingdom of Italy at its greatest extent in 1943, during [[World War II]], with the [[Italian occupation of France|annexation of territories from France]] and [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. The territories annexed by the latter are the area constituting the [[province of Ljubljana]], the area merged with the [[province of Fiume]] and the areas making up the [[Governorate of Dalmatia]].
</gallery>
</div>

;Legend
{{Col-begin}}
*{{legend|#ff602b|[[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] (Kingdom of Italy from 1861)}}
*{{legend|#bfbf00|[[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]]}}
*{{legend|#bf0000|[[Papal States]]}}
*{{legend|#1515ff|[[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]]}}
{{Col-break}}
*{{legend|#00aa00|[[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]]}}
*{{legend|#00d500|[[Duchy of Modena and Reggio]]}}
*{{legend|#55ff55|[[Duchy of Parma and Piacenza]]}}
*{{legend|#fe9e7f|[[United Provinces of Central Italy]]}}
{{Col-end}}

{{History of Italy}}

==Chronology of national coats of arms==
<gallery>
File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy variant (1848-1870).svg|Coat of arms used from 1861 to 1870
File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1870-1890).svg|Coat of arms used from 1870 to 1890
File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg|Coat of arms used from 1890 to 1927
File:ITA Kingdom of Italy (1927-1929) COA (greater).svg|Coat of arms used from 1927 to 1929
File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1929-1944).svg|Coat of arms used from 1929 to 1944
File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg|Coat of arms used from 1944 to 1946
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Italy|Politics}}
* [[Unification of Italy]]
* [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]]
* [[History of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)]]
* [[House of Savoy]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Italy]]
* [[Military history of Italy during World War I]]
* [[Military history of Italy during World War II]]
* [[Roman question]]
* [[Italian Empire]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* Ashley, Susan A. ''Making Liberalism Work: The Italian Experience, 1860–1914'' (2003) [https://www.amazon.com/Making-Liberalism-Work-Experience-1860-1914/dp/0275980626/ excerpt and text search]
* Baran'ski, Zygmunt G. & Rebecca J. West (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=1hVfHLOGAxwC&q=Giolitti The Cambridge companion to modern Italian culture]'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-55034-3}}.
* Barclay, Glen St. J. 1973. ''The Rise and Fall of the New Roman Empire''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.
* {{cite book |last=Bocca |first=Giorgio |title=Storia dell'Italia partigiana settembre 1943 - maggio 1945 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=-2uUngEACAAJ|page=39}} |year=2001 |publisher=Mondadori |page=39 |language=it |via=Google Books |isbn=978-88-0717-2441}}
* Bosworth, Richard J. B. 1983. ''Italy and the Approach of the First World War''. London: The Macmillan
* Bosworth, Richard J. B. 2007. ''Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915–1945'' [https://www.amazon.com/Mussolinis-Italy-Fascist-Dictatorship-1915-1945/dp/0143038567/ excerpt and text search]
* Clark, Martin. 1996. ''Modern Italy: 1871–1995''. (2nd ed. Longman)
* Coppa, Frank J. (1970). "Economic and Ethical Liberalism in Conflict: The extraordinary liberalism of Giovanni Giolitti", ''Journal of Modern History'' (1970) 42#2 pp 191–215 {{JSTOR|1905941}}
* Coppa, Frank J. (1971) ''Planning, Protectionism, and Politics in Liberal Italy: Economics and Politics in the Giolittian Age'' [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24998588 online edition]
* Davis, John A., ed. 2000, ''Italy in the Nineteenth Century: 1796–1900'' Oxford University Press. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=115250399 online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629132205/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=115250399 |date=29 June 2011}}
* de Grazia, Victoria. 1981. ''The Culture of Consent: Mass Organizations of Leisure in Fascist Italy.''
* de Grazia, Victoria. 1993. ''How Fascism Ruled Women: Italy, 1922–1945'' [https://www.amazon.com/How-Fascism-Ruled-Women-Centennial/dp/0520074572/ excerpt and text search]
* De Grand, Alexander J. (2001). ''The hunchback's tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and liberal Italy from the challenge of mass politics to the rise of fascism, 1882–1922'', Greenwood. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101014505 online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205005308/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101014505 |date=5 February 2008}}; [https://books.google.com/books?id=fUvJCuQxmP0C excerpt and text search]
* Duggan, Christopher (2008). ''The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [https://archive.org/details/forceofdestinyhi00dugg text search]
* {{cite book |last=Ganapini|first=Luigi |title = La repubblica delle camicie nere. I combattenti, i politici, gli amministratori, i socializzatori|year = 2010|orig-year = 1999|edition= 2a |publisher= Garzanti|location = Milano |isbn = 978-88-11-69417-5|language=it}}
* Gentile, Emilio. 2003. ''The Struggle For Modernity: Nationalism, Futurism and Fascism.'' Westport, CT: Praeger.
* Gilmour, David. 2011. ''[[The Pursuit of Italy|The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples]]'' [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0374283168/ excerpt and text search]
* Hughes, Robert. 2011. ''Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History''
* {{Cite book|last=Kertzer|first=David I.|author-link=David Kertzer|title=The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xc3QAgAAQBAJ|isbn=9780198716167}} 
* Killinger, Charles L. (2002). ''The history of Italy'', Westport (CT): Greenwood Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=stSxECsf0F4C text search]
* Mack Smith, Denis. 1997. ''Modern Italy; A Political History''. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
* {{cite book |last= Mack Smith |first=Denis|title=Mussolini: A Biography |date=1983 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0394716589}}
* Manenti, Luca G. (2013), ''«Evviva Umberto, Margherita, l'Italia, Roma!». L'irredentismo triestino e Casa Savoia'', in Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea, n. 16, [https://www.studistorici.com/2013/12/29/manenti_numero_16/ 8/ «Evviva Umberto, Margherita, l'Italia, Roma!». L’irredentismo triestino e Casa Savoia]
* {{cite book|first=Diego|last=Meldi|title=La repubblica di Salò|year=2015|publisher=Gherardo Casini Editore|isbn=978-88-6410-068-5}}
* Pauley, Bruce F. 2003. ''Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century''. Wheeling: Harlan Davidson
* Pollard, John F. 1985. ''The Vatican and Italian Fascism, 1929–32''. Cambridge, USA: Cambridge University Press.
* Salomone, A. William. 1945. ''Italy in the Giolittian Era: Italian Democracy in the Making, 1900–1914''
* Sarti, Roland (2004). ''Italy: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present'', New York: Facts on File [https://books.google.com/books?id=xhoLorFC1iwC text search]
* Sarti, Roland. 1974. ''The Ax Within: Italian Fascism in Action.'' New York: New Viewpoints.
* Seton-Watson, Christopher (1967). ''Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870–1925'', New York: Taylor & Francis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nJkOAAAAQAAJ text search]
* {{cite book |title=Swastika over the Acropolis: Re-interpreting the Nazi Invasion of Greece in World War II |first1=Craig |last1=Stockings |first2=Eleanor |last2=Hancock |publisher=BRILL |location=Leiden |year=2013 |isbn=978-90-04-25459-6}}
* Thayer, John A. 1964. ''Italy and the Great War''. Madison and Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin Press.

=== Historiography ===
* Albanese, Giulia. "Reconsidering the March on Rome," ''European History Quarterly'' (2012) 42#3 pp 403–421.
* Ferrari, Paolo. "The Memory And Historiography Of The First World War In Italy" ''Comillas Journal of International Relations'' (2015) #2 pp 117–126  {{ISSN|2386-5776}} {{doi| 10.14422/cir.i02.y2015.009}}
* Keserich, Charles. "The Fiftieth Year of the" March on Rome": Recent Interpretations of Fascism." ''History Teacher'' (1972) 6#1 pp: 135–142 {{JSTOR|492632}}.
* Pergher, Roberta. "An Italian War? War and Nation in the Italian Historiography of the First World War" ''Journal of Modern History'' (Dec 2018) 90#4
* Renzi, William A. ''In the Shadow of the Sword: Italy's Neutrality and Entrance Into the Great War, 1914–1915'' (1987).

=== Primary sources ===
* Mussolini, Benito. 1935. ''[[The Doctrine of Fascism|Fascism: Doctrine and Institutions]]''. Rome: Ardita Publishers.
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090711200604/http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=37 Axis History Factbook– Italy] (archived 11 July 2009)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081211210222/http://historicalresources.org/2008/09/17/mussolinis-war-statement-declaration-of-war-against-usa-december-11-1941/ Mussolini's War Statement – Declaration of War against USA, 11 December 1941] (archived 11 December 2008)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081004183325/http://historicalresources.org/2008/09/19/mussolini-speech-of-the-10-june-1940-declaration-of-war-on-france-and-england/ Declaration of War on France and The United Kingdom, 10 June 1940] (archived 4 October 2008)

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{{Former monarchies Italian peninsula}}
{{Great Power diplomacy}}
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